We recently connected with Angela Williams and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Angela, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
As a survivor of child sexual abuse turned advocate, I have decided to take a huge risk to be both a vulnerable, and transparent about my own abuse and courageous in speaking out on such a taboo subject. My goal is to provide child sexual abuse prevention and healing resources so that we can both help save the next generation of children from this horrific crime and help the millions of survivors of child sexual abuse find hope and healing from the trauma. The risk is not without cost as many turn a blind eye and feel very uncomfortable in my sharing of both the staggering statics and my own struggles. But those impacted turn a listening ear, and finally feel they can break their silence in the wake of me speaking out. In a sense I am able to give them a voice that was taken from them by the abuse in childhood. I have founded Angela’s Voice.
Angela’s VOICE is dedicated to developing, distributing, and endorsing valuable resources in the awareness, prevention, and healing of child sexual abuse. The materials, though specific for survivors of child sexual abuse, also benefit any abuse survivor and help protect children by teaching them how to defend themselves from abusive behavior. Founder Angela Williams is a survivor-turned-advocate who shares a powerful message of triumph over tragedy by sharing her vulnerable and candid voice about her abuse trauma, her pain, her struggles, and her journey to healing, in hopes that it may help other survivors expedite their healing journey.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I have devoted years to providing awareness, prevention, and healing programs through her advocacy work. I speak boldly with her powerful message of triumph over tragedy as a victim of childhood physical and sexual abuse. At age seventeen, she attempted suicide, and that day was the end of her torment and the beginning of a journey to healing. She is a crusader for change and dedicates her life to eradicate child sexual abuse. I hold a master’s in forensic psychology with a concentration in child abuse. I have spread my message over the nation and around the world appearing in national and international news and documentaries. I have worked on state legislative reform and national policy work and served on the Policy Committee of the National Coalition to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. Not that I do this work for the accolades but I received numerous awards for my work and have written a collection of books that have valuable lessons for survivors of all ages. The series of books include:
Loving Me: After Abuse
From Sorrows to Sapphires, Angela Williams’s Memoir
Interactive Workbooks—Adults
Healing
Pathway to Healing, Guide to Healing
True Intimacy
Shattering the Shame
Unveiling Child Sexual Abuse
Prevention
Tough Talk to Tender Hearts
The Grooming Mystery
Single Parenting Solutions
Courage to Speak
Children’s Books (Ages 5–10)
Gracie Finds Her VOICE
Grant Gets His Shield
Gracie and Grant’s Big Win
Gracie and Grant’s Big Win Coloring Book
Find Your Voice Curriculum Book
More information can be found at angelasvoice.com
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I was sexually abused as a child for 14 years, after a serious suicide attempt left home at 17 and worked three jobs to obtain a college degree. Through years of recovery from the trauma I decided to write my memoir, From Sorrows To Sapphires, to help other survivors on their healing journey. That book and my journey led me to discover a huge need in our society for both child sexual abuse prevention and healing. The majority of funding is for victim services and not prevention. Child Sexual Abuse statistics are staggering with 1 in 10 children sexually abused before their 18th birthday, only 1 in 10 will every tell and 93% of the time they know, love and trust their abuser. There are 42,000,000 reported survivors in the US and that is just the tip of the iceberg. I have worked for years on this issue and my resilience to keep up the crusade has stood the test of time.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
Absolutely. I am bi-vocational as a real estate broker and advocate. Both I love and have a great passion for becuase I am constantly helping people.
Contact Info:
- Website: angelasvoice.com
- Instagram: @angelavoice
- Facebook: @angelasvoice
- Linkedin: @angelasvoice
- Twitter: @angelasvoice
- Youtube: youtube.com/angelakwilliams
- Other: Readers can download a free Tough Talk To Tender Hearts Book at the following link: https://angelakwilliams.ac-page.com/book-download