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

Send us Fan MailIn 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 showAspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com