Samantha Leonard: Survivor, Author, & Activist

Trigger Warning: During this conversation we discuss childhood sexual abuse. Listener discretion is advised.

Samantha Leonard is the author of “Groomed: Shining a Light on the Unheard Narrative of Childhood Sexual Assault,” a novel that tells the shocking tale of one young woman’s journey of abuse. Samantha wrote “Groomed” as a fictional story, drawing from her own personal experience being groomed, and from the personal experience of other child exploitation survivors. She sat down with Consider Before Consuming podcast host, Garrett Jonsson, to discuss how, as a society, we need to become more aware of what grooming can look like, and how pornography often plays a role in desensitizing the victim. Listen as Samantha draws from her and Blair’s (the fictional main character in “Groomed”) personal experience in the grooming process, and what we as members of society can do to recognize abuse, and intervene when it is happening. Samantha’s book “Groomed” can be found on Amazon. You can also find Samantha Leonard on samantharaeleonard.com or on Instagram @samantha__leonard.

Click here to access the resources discussed in this episode.

To learn more about the harms of pornography on consumers, relationships, and its larger societal impacts, visit FTND.org.

To support this podcast, visit FTND.org/cbcsupport.

Thank you for listening, and we invite you to consider before consuming.

Fight the New Drug collaborates with a variety of qualified organizations and individuals with varying personal beliefs, affiliations, and political persuasions. As FTND is a non-religious and non-legislative organization, the personal beliefs, affiliations, and persuasions of any of our team members or of those we collaborate with do not reflect or impact the mission of Fight the New Drug.