Barbara on Dr. Oz Show with 20 survivors of sexual assault/harassment in New York City. Some people do not simply survive abuse. They make a de
Barbara on Dr. Oz Show with 20 survivors
of sexual assault/harassment in New York City.
Some people do not simply survive abuse. They make a decision that what happened to them will not have the final word, and then they spend years reaching back for other people who are still trying to find their way out.
Barbara Joy Hansen is one of those women.
Over the years that I have been blogging and advocating for abuse Survivors, I have encountered Barbara’s work more than once. I may have even profiled her before. But who decided courage like this could only be written about once?
Barbara Joy Hansen has devoted much of her life to bringing abuse out of secrecy and helping people confront the wounds that violence leaves behind. Her advocacy has reached Survivors, people struggling with addiction, incarcerated people, and people who have committed sexual offenses. Her work has included outreach connected with Bridgewater State Hospital in Massachusetts and humanitarian work beyond the United States.
Her story is not an easy one. It is also the reason she understands the enormous cost of silence.
5 Fast Highlights About Barbara Joy Hansen
1. She has spoken publicly about surviving sexual abuse beginning in early childhood.
Barbara has described being sexually abused by her grandfather between approximately ages two and eight. She has also spoken about sexual abuse by a youth pastor at a Christian camp when she was around 11 or 12 and rape at age 18. She has written and spoken about the long-term trauma that followed these experiences, including PTSD and struggles that affected her adult relationships.
2. She turned decades of silence into advocacy.
Barbara has described living with what she calls a “silent scream” for 38 years. That phrase says something many Survivors understand without needing much explanation. A person can go to work, raise a family, attend church, laugh, help other people, and keep moving while carrying pain that has never been given a safe place to speak.
For Barbara, bringing abuse into the light became part of her journey toward freedom and healing.
3. She wrote Listen to the Cry of the Child.
Barbara is the international award-winning author of the memoir Listen to the Cry of the Child, in which she shares her experiences of childhood abuse and the consequences that followed. Her story gives readers a window into something statistics alone cannot explain: what violence can do inside the life of a child long after childhood has ended.
4. She has used what she learned to help other wounded people.
Barbara has facilitated Beauty Out of Ashes, a support ministry focused on helping people carrying trauma, addiction, and other deep wounds. Her advocacy has sometimes taken her into places many people would rather avoid, including correctional and treatment settings.
That part of her work deserves attention. Ending abuse requires caring for Survivors first and foremost, while also being willing to confront the behaviors, histories, and cycles that allow abuse to continue. Prevention sometimes requires going into difficult places and having difficult conversations.
5. Her humanitarian work has crossed international borders.
Barbara’s service has also taken her to the Philippines, where her life and testimony were featured in a short documentary connected with CBN Asia and The 700 Club Asia. Barbara Joy Hansen’s life reminds us why Survivor voices remain so necessary.
There was a time when she carried her pain largely in silence. Today, she has used her voice to speak into rooms where abuse, addiction, trauma, accountability and healing are difficult to discuss.
And perhaps that is one of the most powerful things a Survivor can discover:
The voice that somebody once tried to silence can become the very voice that helps somebody else find their way home to themselves.