Author Archives: Alissa Ackerman

In our last episode, Who is the Ideal Victim?  we spoke with Dr. Danielle Slakoff about media depictions of survivors of interpersonal and sexual harm. Specifically, we unpacked the way that race influences media narratives about who qualifies as a “real victim” worthy of help and sympathy. Black and Latina victims are frequently portrayed asContinue reading “Episode 22 – Invisible Victims: Black Survivors of Sexual Harm”

Welcome to Season 2 of Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast. We are so excited to share this new season with you. This time around, we will be diving deeper into critical issues related to sex crimes. Many of the episodes feature people directly impacted by these topics. Guests include experts as well as peopleContinue reading “Welcome to Season 2”

Throughout the first season of Beyond Fear: The Sex Crimes Podcast, we have received dozens of questions and comments from listeners. The conversations we have had one-on-one with each other and those we have had with some of you who have reached out have affirmed our belief that the work we do and the wayContinue reading “The Things Left Unsaid”

In this final episode of season 1, we talk about our experiences participating in restorative justice sessions. Restorative justice is a framework under which many possibilities exist. Alissa began participating in restorative justice sessions with men and women mandated to treatment after the commission of a sexual offense. This work has continued and we bothContinue reading “Episode 13 – Get Curious!”

In Episode 12 of Beyond Fear, we interview David Prescott, an internationally known expert on treatment for those who sexually offend. A mental health practitioner of 36 years, David Prescott is the Editor of Safer Society Press. He is the author and editor of 20 books in the areas of understanding and improving services toContinue reading “Episode 12 – Building A Better Life”

The image that comes to mind when we think about a person who commits a sexual offense is more often than not, male. While it is true that the vast majority of sexual harm around the world is committed by men, women can – and do – commit sex crimes. In this episode of BeyondContinue reading “Episode 11 – Do Women Do Those Things?!”

In Episode 9, we covered the basis for sexual offense policies and the evolution of this legislation, including the public registry and residence restrictions. In our work, we often discuss the “collateral consequences” of these laws from an academic perspective. However, we felt it was important to give a voice to people who are livingContinue reading “Episode 10 – Once You See, You Can’t Unsee”

In Episode 9, “Why Should I Care?!”, Alexa interviews Dr. Alissa Ackerman about sex crimes policies in the U.S. Alissa is widely considered an expert on sex crimes policy and much of her research has examined the efficacy of the sex offense registry, residence restrictions, and community notification. Notably, her research, and that of mostContinue reading “Episode 9 – Why Should I Care?”

Research shows that, like people who commit other crimes, those who sexually offend also desist from offending. This is both hard to hear and important to acknowledge. In Episode 8 of Beyond Fear, we made the deliberate decision to pivot from conversations about survivor experiences to a focus on the experience of individuals who haveContinue reading “Episode 8 – The Deliberate Shift”

The Beyond Fear Podcast is one continuous story, where episodes build from one to the next with the ability to reach back to previous episodes when necessary. Yet, when we started writing the story in episode 1, we didn’t fully recognize the impact that telling the story would have on us. Recording Episode 7 wasContinue reading “Episode 7 – “The Second Rape””