Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2160

Tonight's special guest is Nancy S. Allen from Dawsonville, Georgia, a survivor of father-daughter incest. "Today I say that sentence in a strong voice without shame," Nancy says, "but that was not always the case. For much of my life, I hid that secret and felt different, unworthy, misunderstood and alone." Physically and emotionally abused from early childhood, at age 14 Nancy was briefly mandated into a kinship foster care placement by social services, a year after the abuse turned sexual. This removal and related court-ordered “punishment” of therapy made Nancy feel she was equally at fault as her father. Soon after her return home, the incest resumed, and escalated over the next decade. When Nancy was 28, her father died, and her repressed world exploded. She checked herself into an acute psychiatric hospital to begin her healing. Nancy’s focus is to help create a world where incest survivors have a different life experience than she did. She wants to champion others to say “I am an incest survivor” without shame, guilt, or fear of repercussions, and to open a dialogue which removes the societal taboo of acknowledging and discussing incest. Nancy recently launched a weekly podcast  called 'Tail of the Bell', which focuses on specific topics interpreted through a featured incest survivor's personal story. Nancy relates, “from the decades of horrific trauma, extensive tragedy, and glorious life experiences, I have evolved into an empathetic, capable, and successful leader, mentor, and benefactor.”