E70: Teaching Kids Body Safety | Finley Muratova on Tricky Adults, Secrets, and Child Safety - Advocacy in Action

Send us Fan MailIn this week’s episode of Aspire - Advocacy in Action, host Katie M. Shipp and co-host Ray Epstein speak with Finley Muratova, a childhood sexual abuse prevention specialist, teacher, and survivor, about turning lived experience into prevention-focused education. They discuss how survivor-centered, trauma-informed teaching can help young people build language, boundaries, and confidence around safety.Finley shares how an anger-filled response to campus injustice led them from journalism into classroom-based prevention work, starting with Peer Health Exchange in Brooklyn. A pivotal moment with a student who needed help after a consent-related incident showed Finley how education can create real-time intervention and long-term change.The conversation explores what age-appropriate prevention education looks like in practice across elementary and middle school settings. Finley explains tools like anonymous question mugs, body safety maps, and the use of phrases like “tricky adults,” “secrets vs. surprises,” and “adults should ask other adults for help” to teach children how to notice risk without shame or fear.They highlight the importance of cultural competency and queer inclusion in education spaces. Finley and the hosts talk about using gender-neutral language, inclusive examples, and non-tokenizing approaches so more students can see themselves in the conversation.Toward the end, Finley shares what gives them hope: students who learn and grow, teachers who respond with curiosity instead of punishment, and everyday moments of normalcy and joy.Support the showAspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com