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Where It Hurts

March 13, 2026·36 min·2 clips
Mary Sin teaches pelvic exams with her own body and explains why reassurance matters.
Risk joins Story Collider for a special collaboration. Misha Gajewski and Kevin Allison co-host it together, and both stories were produced for the stage by Aaron Barker and Brad Lawrence before being edited for the show. The central story begins with a sexual assault case that stalled. A detective had moved on, and the evidence still had not been sent out for DNA testing. The speaker feels betrayed by the police, and by everyone the speaker turned to, because the help that came back felt like predation, derision, and apathy. Many decades later, that memory shapes a new job. The speaker becomes director of the forensic examiner program and starts trying to build something useful for survivors. The work reaches Albany. It also reaches hospital emergency rooms, the Suffolk County Police Academy, and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office through trauma-informed care and protocols for handling sexual assault victims. The episode stays close to both the betrayal and the practical work. The case was left without DNA testing and without anyone working it. Two nurses ask the speaker to present with them to the International Association of Forensic Nursing in Dallas in 2022. The presentation covers how the program was built, how nurses were recruited and mentored, and how helpful protocols were developed. The group wins second place. The speaker treats that as icing on the cake. The number that matters more is the more than 1,000 patients helped during five years with the program. The closing note is gratitude for the nurses whose professionalism and grace made the work possible.

As heard by us

A survivor's case becomes a clear look at care, delay, and what advocacy costs.

Where It Hurts threads a sexual assault case, stalled police work, and survivor advocacy into one sustained account, and the pairing of Story Collider and Risk gives it a live, intimate feel.

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Why you'd press play

If you want a sexual assault story that turns betrayal into survivor advocacy, this one stays sharp.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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