Aspire: The I Have The Right To Podcast

I Have the Right To
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Join the I Have the Right to team and thought leaders as we Aspire to eradicate sexual assault. Inspired by Co-Founder Chessy Prout’s courageous voice and memoir, I Have The Right To- A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice and Hope, co-authored by investigative journalist Jenn Abelson, our mission is to create an ecosystem of respect,  education, and support for all students! Aspire is meant to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for growth -- by offering a forum for dialogue - about issues affecting our culture and the way we live, interact, love, learn and grow.  Real Men, Real Conversations: Aspire touches on both sides of the coin; Co-Founder of I Have the Right To and father of Chessy Prout, Alex Prout, and High School Student Leaders and Co-Hosts, Hugh Eastman and Gabriel Viscogliosi, share their voices with discussions about what it means to be a man- does it mean being aggressive, stoic, and not taking no for an answer? Or giving your buddy a hug and telling him you love him? Alex, Gabriel, and Hugh share how, across generations, common masculinity tropes impact us all, and how we can inspire the future to act with "aspirational masculinity". They interview guests to get their perspectives, while discussing how rigid gender norms can create harmful barriers for all. All this, and more, in “Real Men, Real Conversations”. Survivor Advocacy: In the “Survivor Advocacy” segment, Co-Founder and mother of Chessy Prout, Susan Prout, and Executive Director of I Have the Right To, Katie M. Shipp, highlight the power of survivor voices in driving meaningful change. These episodes —deeply inspired by Chessy’s unwavering courage to speak out despite attempts to silence her— amplify powerful survivor stories, engage with experts, and explore the path forward in the fight for justice and safety. Listeners will gain insight into where we’ve been, where we need to go, and how we can collectively create lasting impact. Together, we’ll explore diverse perspectives to drive meaningful, lasting advocacy and build a safer, more just future for all. We amplify survivors’ voices and address the root causes of sexual violence by creating open dialogue around its causes. Each episode features a variety of guests discussing survivor experiences, the aftermath of sexual assault, healthy masculinity, and the future we envision - free from sexual assault.   Let’s explore, learn, and aspire together. 

  1. E59: Community as Justice | Lauren Weingarten on Survivor-Informed Care and Building Safe Spaces Online – Advocacy in Action

    4D AGO

    E59: Community as Justice | Lauren Weingarten on Survivor-Informed Care and Building Safe Spaces Online – Advocacy in Action

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the I Have the Right to Aspire podcast, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout welcome guest co-hosts Maria and Kylie alongside Lauren Weingarten, founder of MTMV Community Support Network, one of the first social media-based support spaces for survivors of trauma, abuse, and sexual violence, plus their supporters. Lauren shares how she launched MTMV anonymously in 2019 amid her own healing journey, driven by isolation after assault and a stubborn belief that others needed connection too; it has since grown into global peer support groups, workshops, consulting, and events emphasizing "community as our culture." The group unpacks survivor-informed care as building on trauma-informed principles, while navigating social media's unique challenges. They explore why joyful, bright, accessible online content counters silence around harm; how community becomes justice when legal systems fail (offering validation and solidarity instead); tensions in demanding survivor stories without support; and practical tips for building safer digital spaces. The conversation ends with Lauren's "I have the right to be me" statement, embracing her full self amid ongoing growth. To learn more about MTMV Community Support Network, visit MTMVsupport.com or follow @MTMVcommunity on Instagram and Threads. For more information on I Have The Right To, visit https://ihavetherightto.org/​ Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    42 min
  2. E58: Aspire to Care (ft. Cody Ragonese) - Real Men, Real Conversations

    MAR 21

    E58: Aspire to Care (ft. Cody Ragonese) - Real Men, Real Conversations

    Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Aspire - Real Men, Real Conversations, hosts Alex Prout and Gabriel Viscogliosi sit down with Cody Ragonese, Associate Director of Programs at Equimundo: Center for Masculinities and Social Justice. Cody shares how his journey from academic work in public health and international development to Peace Corps service in Eswatini led him into engaging men and boys in gender equality, HIV prevention, and violence reduction, and eventually into global masculinity work at Equimundo. He describes how early “girls’ empowerment” programs revealed a critical missing piece, and how building boys’ clubs focused on behavior change, safer sex, and relationships became his entry point into gender-transformative programming.​ Together, Alex, Gabriel, and Cody unpack why “gender equality needs men just as much as men need gender equality,” reframing this work not as charity or “allyship” but as men’s empowerment and liberation from harmful, socially constructed masculinity. They dive into concepts like the “man box,” the crisis of connection, and boys’ emotional masks, exploring how norms of stoicism, dominance, and narrow definitions of strength leave many young men isolated, under-equipped, and convinced that “nobody cares if they’re okay.” Cody explains how Equimundo works across ecosystems, from preschool classrooms and sports fields to online spaces like Discord and influencer content, to help boys and men redefine what it means to be a man. The episode closes with Cody’s “I have the right to” statement, balancing accountability and care: a call for men to be held responsible for their actions while also being supported to express care in ways that build empathy and connection.​ To learn more about Equimundo, please visit https://www.equimundo.org/ For more information on I Have The Right To, visit https://ihavetherightto.org/ Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    1 hr
  3. E57: A Survivor's Journey | Hilary Simon on Legal Reform and Protecting Students from Abuse – Advocacy in Action

    MAR 14

    E57: A Survivor's Journey | Hilary Simon on Legal Reform and Protecting Students from Abuse – Advocacy in Action

    Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of Aspire, host Chessy Prout is joined by co-hosts Maria and Steve Peacock for a powerful conversation with attorney, survivor, and advocate Hilary Simon. Hilary shares how, at 14, she arrived at Miss Hall’s School hoping for safety and support, only to be slowly groomed and sexually abused by a beloved teacher and coach. She describes how early patterns of putting others first and making herself small evolved into a survival response she later learned to call fawning; appeasing and performing in order to stay safe.  The group explores the double wound of institutional betrayal. Not only did Miss Hall’s fail to protect students, it ignored reports for decades, even expelling girls and dismissing concerns as “gossip,” until multiple survivors, including Hilary, came forward and pushed the school to commission an independent investigation and implement concrete safety reforms. Hilary and the hosts break down what grooming really looks like in real life. It's often  not “stranger danger,” but trusted adults who look like mentors and friends who commit sexual assault. They discuss how parents, educators, and institutions can intervene earlier, build safe reporting pathways, and teach children to trust their own internal alarm, including through age-appropriate tools and everyday conversations at home. Hilary also shares how she moved from litigation into deeper healing and advocacy, using therapy and Internal Family Systems work to reparent the 14-year-old inside her and reclaim her voice. She is now helping champion a Massachusetts bill that would finally close a legal loophole by preventing teachers and other authority figures from using “consent” as a defense when they exploit 16- and 17-year-old students, and by strengthening prevention and training requirements in schools. Throughout the dialogue, the group underlines that justice is not just a verdict but the ongoing work of naming harm, changing laws and practices, and creating a world where every young person has the right to safety, dignity, and their own voice. Follow Hilary Simon on instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hilary_simonesq/ To learn more about I Have The Right To, please visit https://ihavetherightto.org/ Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    1h 3m
  4. E56: Antiguan Justice | Derrick Hurley on Fighting for Justice and Redefining a Father’s Role – Real Men, Real Conversations

    MAR 7

    E56: Antiguan Justice | Derrick Hurley on Fighting for Justice and Redefining a Father’s Role – Real Men, Real Conversations

    Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Alex Prout and Gabriel Viscogliosi are joined by special guest Derrick Hurley, a father of three, retired retail technology executive, and author of Antiguan Justice: A Father’s Fight. Derrick shares the story of his eldest daughter, who while studying in Antigua, was drugged and raped by an off-duty UK police officer. Derrick talks about the moment he and his wife first learned what had happened, and how he moved from a rush of rage and a desire for revenge into a posture of calm, unconditional support. He describes what it meant to tell his daughter, “You focus on school and healing, I’ll take care of justice,” and how that promise turned into a four-year battle through two countries’ legal systems, including an unprecedented and historic extradition. The conversation explores what it looks like for fathers and caregivers to respond to disclosure in a truly trauma-informed way. Providing unconditional support, rejecting victim-blaming, and centering their daughters' needs over their own anger, are similarities that Alex and Derrick, both fathers of survivors, share. Derrick, Alex, and Gabriel discuss the toll that prolonged legal processes take on families, and what changed when they began to seek therapy, community, and advocacy as part of their healing. They also zoom out to examine the broader systems that enable sexual violence to flourish: low rates of reporting and conviction, cultural myths about “staying safe,” and the ways law enforcement, embassies, and legal frameworks can either retraumatize survivors or protect them, sometimes even both. Drawing from Derrick's experience working with police and officials in Antigua and the UK, the hosts ask what true accountability should look like, and how survivor-centered reforms could transform outcomes for others. Justice, they emphasize, is more than a verdict: it’s the daily work of showing up, listening, pushing systems to do better, and choosing not to let silence and denial have the last word. By sharing his family's story, Derrick offers a powerful example of how a battle for justice can ripple outward into changes in law, practice, and public conversation, and how even in the aftermath of profound harm, families can help build a world where survivors everywhere find justice. To learn more about Derrick Hurley and his book, please visit https://derrick-hurley.com/product/antiguan-justice/ Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    1h 4m
  5. E55: Maya’s Magic Word | Ashley-Lauren Elrod on Using Storytelling to Teach Kids Consent - Advocacy in Action

    FEB 28

    E55: Maya’s Magic Word | Ashley-Lauren Elrod on Using Storytelling to Teach Kids Consent - Advocacy in Action

    Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by guest co-host Maria and special guest Ashley-Lauren Elrod, a multi-assault survivor, Emmy-nominated producer, and nationally recognized leader in survivor advocacy and child safety education. Ashley-Lauren is the founder of Visionary Woman Productions and the creator of Maya’s Magic Word, a new children’s book and prevention platform designed to teach body autonomy and consent to kids in a non-fear-based, trauma-informed way. Ashley-Lauren discusses how creativity and storytelling helped her survive childhood abuse and how those same tools now ground her work in prevention, healing, and systemic change. The conversation explores what it looks like to build “systems of freedom” in the entertainment industry; creating sets and workspaces where artists, parents, and young performers are respected, informed, and empowered to say no. She also shares how Maya’s Magic Word was born at a UN conference and why she intentionally started with preschoolers, ages two to six, to normalize conversations about body safety long before adolescence. The hosts and Ashley-Lauren talk about moving beyond “stranger danger,” using everyday scenarios, affirmations, and games to help children trust their intuition, recognize unsafe behavior (even from people they know), and understand that their bodies belong to them. Throughout the episode, Katie, Chessy, and Maria weave in reflections on their own experiences with harmful norms. They highlight how intergenerational patterns, cultural messaging, and silence can keep survivors from accessing help, and how trauma-informed, age-appropriate education can disrupt that cycle. Prevention starts early and everywhere: in classrooms, on sets, in families, and in policy. By centering safety, consent, and self-trust over compliance and toughness, they invite listeners to imagine a world where children grow up knowing their voices are magic, their boundaries will be honored, and they have the right to help shape safer communities. To learn more about Ashley-Lauren and her book Maya's Magic Word, visit https://www.ashleylaurenelrod.com/mayasmagicword Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    55 min
  6. E54: Strong, Smart, and Brave | Dr. Charlotte Markey on the Next Generation of Body Image - Advocacy in Action

    FEB 21

    E54: Strong, Smart, and Brave | Dr. Charlotte Markey on the Next Generation of Body Image - Advocacy in Action

    Send us Fan Mail In this week’s episode of Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by student intern Kalaya Hudziec-Leiva and special guest Dr. Charlotte Markey, a renowned psychology professor and leading expert on body image. Dr. Markey discusses the updated edition of The Body Image Book for Girls and explores the critical intersection of body appreciation, mental health, and personal safety. The conversation delves into how caregivers can move past the “cringe factor” to have honest, age-appropriate conversations about puberty, navigate the impact of social media, and use anatomically correct language to empower children. Dr. Markey also shares practical strategies for challenging cultural beauty standards and helping young people separate their self-worth from their appearance. Throughout the episode, the hosts enrich the discussion with personal reflections on their own experiences with body image and societal expectations. Chessy shares her radical practice of “body gratitude,” reframing her body as a capable, powerful instrument rather than an object for aesthetic judgment. Katie reflects on the damaging double standards she faced in high school, disciplined for the length of her shorts while classmates crossed her physical boundaries. Together, they highlight how shifting the focus from “beautiful” to “strong,” “smart,” and “brave” can help the next generation reclaim confidence, autonomy, and power. Connect with Dr Markey: https://www.instagram.com/char_markey/  https://facebook.com/drcharlottemarkey/ https://markey.camden.rutgers.edu/  Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    52 min
  7. E53: Beyond Shame and Blame | Leora Tanenbaum on Sexual Citizenship, Dress Codes, and Digital Harm - Advocacy in Action

    FEB 14

    E53: Beyond Shame and Blame | Leora Tanenbaum on Sexual Citizenship, Dress Codes, and Digital Harm - Advocacy in Action

    Send us Fan Mail Today on Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by communications director Maria Villegas and student intern Jonas Wahl, along with this week’s guest, author and advocate Leora Tanenbaum. Leora is a pioneering writer on slut shaming, sexual agency, and young women’s rights whose latest book, Sexy Selfie Nation, explores how young people are navigating an increasingly toxic, sexist, and hyper-digital culture. Leora shares how reading a 1993 report on sexual harassment in schools helped her finally name the abuse she experienced as a teen, and how that “lightbulb moment” led to 30 years of research, interviews, and books amplifying girls’ and women’s stories. She traces the evolution from “slut bashing” in the 1990s to today’s landscape of social media, image-based abuse, and AI-driven deepfakes, explaining why what once felt like a hopeful turning point for change has instead become an era where harassment is constant, portable, and nearly impossible to escape. Together, the group explores trauma-informed advocacy, internalized slut shaming, and the complicated ways survivors can blame themselves for violence they did not cause, even when they know better. They talk through what genuine allyship from boys, men, and peers can look like—starting with “I believe you, I’m here for you”—and how small shifts in everyday language. Leora explains the concept of sexual citizenship—everyone’s right to determine if, when, and how sexual encounters occur, and to respect others’ equal rights—and highlights how this core principle is undermined by gendered dress codes, non-consensual sexualization, and victim-blaming narratives.  She and the hosts dig into how societies police girls’ bodies, disproportionately target girls of color, and force young people to see themselves as sexual objects before they may be ready, as well as how students of all genders are organizing to rewrite these policies and reclaim their autonomy. They close with a call for everyone, especially young people, to own their bodies, their images, and their stories without apology, to challenge non-consensual sexualization wherever they see it, and to stand together in creating schools, families, and online spaces where no one is shamed for simply existing in their own skin. Leora Tanenbaum - link to: https://www.leoratanenbaum.com/  Sexy Selfie Nation - link to: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538194007/  Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    1 hr
  8. E52: I Have the Right to Fight Back | Laura Dunn on Saving Title IX, Survivor-Led Justice, and Running for Congress - Advocacy in Action

    FEB 7

    E52: I Have the Right to Fight Back | Laura Dunn on Saving Title IX, Survivor-Led Justice, and Running for Congress - Advocacy in Action

    Send us Fan Mail Today on Aspire, hosts Katie Shipp and Chessy Prout are joined by student interns Jonas Wahl and Kyleigh LeBoutillier, along with this week’s guest, Laura Dunn. Laura is a nationally recognized civil rights attorney, survivor advocate, Congressional candidate, and the attorney who represented Chessy in her sexual assault case. Laura shares how her own experience of campus sexual violence led her away from prosecution and toward representing survivors directly, challenging institutional failures and reshaping civil rights law to center those who’ve been harmed. Laura explains that Title IX is no longer functioning as intended, and unpacks the recent Supreme Court decision that quietly gutted emotional-distress damages for many K-12 survivors. Laura explains how this shift has made many Title IX cases economically impossible for private attorneys to take on, and why she’s running for Congress to restore and strengthen protections for the next 50 years. Together, the group explores trauma-informed advocacy, the complexity of survivor-offender dynamics, and the importance of centering offenders’ choices rather than blaming survivors. Laura also lays out her platform: government accountability, affordability for everyday people, and thoughtful regulation of emerging technologies like AI and crypto to protect survivors and marginalized communities. They close with the powerful reminder, “I have the right to fight back,” which is an invitation for everyone - especially young people - to claim their power, know their rights, and step into leadership in any way they can. To learn more, visit lauradunnforcongress.com Support the show Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

    56 min
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5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Join the I Have the Right to team and thought leaders as we Aspire to eradicate sexual assault. Inspired by Co-Founder Chessy Prout’s courageous voice and memoir, I Have The Right To- A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice and Hope, co-authored by investigative journalist Jenn Abelson, our mission is to create an ecosystem of respect,  education, and support for all students! Aspire is meant to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for growth -- by offering a forum for dialogue - about issues affecting our culture and the way we live, interact, love, learn and grow.  Real Men, Real Conversations: Aspire touches on both sides of the coin; Co-Founder of I Have the Right To and father of Chessy Prout, Alex Prout, and High School Student Leaders and Co-Hosts, Hugh Eastman and Gabriel Viscogliosi, share their voices with discussions about what it means to be a man- does it mean being aggressive, stoic, and not taking no for an answer? Or giving your buddy a hug and telling him you love him? Alex, Gabriel, and Hugh share how, across generations, common masculinity tropes impact us all, and how we can inspire the future to act with "aspirational masculinity". They interview guests to get their perspectives, while discussing how rigid gender norms can create harmful barriers for all. All this, and more, in “Real Men, Real Conversations”. Survivor Advocacy: In the “Survivor Advocacy” segment, Co-Founder and mother of Chessy Prout, Susan Prout, and Executive Director of I Have the Right To, Katie M. Shipp, highlight the power of survivor voices in driving meaningful change. These episodes —deeply inspired by Chessy’s unwavering courage to speak out despite attempts to silence her— amplify powerful survivor stories, engage with experts, and explore the path forward in the fight for justice and safety. Listeners will gain insight into where we’ve been, where we need to go, and how we can collectively create lasting impact. Together, we’ll explore diverse perspectives to drive meaningful, lasting advocacy and build a safer, more just future for all. We amplify survivors’ voices and address the root causes of sexual violence by creating open dialogue around its causes. Each episode features a variety of guests discussing survivor experiences, the aftermath of sexual assault, healthy masculinity, and the future we envision - free from sexual assault.   Let’s explore, learn, and aspire together. 

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