Trigger Warning: The subject of this blog involves the sexual assault of a child. On this episode of Disruptive Storytelling with Military Changemakers our guest, a military spouse and mother, shares how her family dealt with the aftermath of her young daughter’s alleged* sexual assault on a military base. The trauma still haunts their family two years later. Our guest also shares the actions she’s taking today so that other military families don’t have to endure the same experiences of supporting a child who has been victimized.
Podcast Guest: Jusika Martinez, Air Force spouse
“My key takeaway is that the military didn’t believe us…To hear them invalidate it and also just kind of brush it to the side is what really has impacted this whole journey. And I think that that’s my one takeaway is that that is one place that we need to get better at.” – Jusika Martinez
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Layers of Victimization
The Martinez family has lived many parent’s worst nightmare. Their child was harmed by someone they trusted. But in addition to the victimization itself, their family had to cope with the stigma surrounding sexual assault while having to navigate the bureaucracy of the sexual assault reporting system.
Jusika shares how she has learned to give herself grace and how the military and other military families can come alongside those in similar circumstances. Learn more about topics covered in this episode:
- Jusika’s work with Operation Addi
- Child sexual abuse statistics
- The Defense Department’s Special Victims’ Counsel
Have You or Someone You Know Been Victimized?
Connect with RAINN
Learn more about the effects of abuse.
Books Jusika Recommmends for Parents:
Reaching and Teaching Children Exposed to Trauma – Barbara Sorrels
The Body Keeps Score – Bessel van der Kolk M.D.
101 Tips for Survivors of Sexual Abuse: A Pocket Book of Wisdom – Amy Barth
Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness – David A Treleaven and Willoughby Britton
Books Jusika Recommends to Help Kiddos:
A Terrible Thing Happened – Margret M. Holmes
Good Pictures Bad Pictures Jr. – Kristen A. Jenson
No Means No – Jayneen Sanders
I said No – By Zach and Kimberly King
My Private Parts are Private – Robert Edleman
About our Guest
Jusika Martinez is the spouse of an active duty member currently stationed on the West Coast. She is a mother of three young daughters and is a working professional in the nonprofit military sector. Jusika is an Air Force master resilience trainer and actively looks for ways to continue growing personally and professionally. She can continually be found advocating for other military spouses, airmen, their families, and the safety of military children. Jusika’s commitment and advocacy to the military community come from her personal experiences as a military spouse of 16 years and her personal mission of striving for continuous improvement and growth wherever she finds herself or in any life situation.
Want to Share Your Disruptive Story?
Disruptive Storytelling with Military Changemakers is a bi-weekly podcast presented by Partners in PROMISE, a nonprofit dedicated to Protecting the Rights Of Military children In Special Education (P.R.O.M.I.S.E.). This season of the podcast is sponsored by the Modern Military Association of America with music by Stephen McDonough.
*cases of assault are considered “alleged” until the guilty party is convicted.
Want to sponsor a future episode? Email: info@thepromiseact.org
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