Talking Taboos: The Podcast

At Talking Taboos we deep dive into a range of taboo topics to try and better understand what's going on, why they are taboo, and how taboo and stigma impacts people's experience. ultimately we want our work to help people feel seen, understood, and better able to get the support they deserve.Our Today's Taboos 2026 research has identified sexual assault by someone you know, and specifically, sexual assault within a friendship group, as one of the topics many people feel most uncomfortable talking about, despite how common it is.To help us explore what sits behind this, I’m joined by Caleb, counsellor and Director of Services and Christopher, Senior Lived Experience Lead at We Are Survivors. Caleb and Christopher do really  incredible work supporting men, trans men and non-binary people who’ve experienced sexual harm, helping them access the support they need through helplines, therapy and community.  The work We Are Survivors does is hugely important in creating spaces where people can feel supported and understood, and we’re very grateful to have both Caleb and Chistopher here to share some of their insight and expertise! That brings us to the end of this episode of Talking Taboos: The Podcast.Caleb and Christopher left us with two wishes. Caleb’s was that more of us understand the power of a first disclosure: that acknowledging, validating and believing someone can change the path they take next. Christopher’s was that every survivor could see that joy is possible, and that as dark as it can get, this is not the end.If anything in this episode has felt familiar, you are not alone, and you are not to blame, not for what happened, and not for how long it may have taken to find the words. It is never too late to talk about something that still affects you.If you’re a man or boy who has experienced sexual harm, We Are Survivors offers support across England and Wales at wearesurvivors.org.uk. If you’re supporting someone you love, Restitute has support for loved ones at restitute.org. If you’re in immediate danger, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.For survivors of any gender, The Survivors Trust lists specialist services across the UK at thesurvivorstrust.org, and the 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Line is free on 0808 500 2222. If something has happened recently, you can find your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre through the NHS website.Thank you for listening to Talking Taboos: The Podcast. Links and details for everything mentioned are in the show notes, and we’ll be back in 2 weeks with another episode talking about sexual assault by someone you know.We are Survivors (Male Survivors) - We Are Survivors - Break the silenceRestitute (Loved Ones) - About Us – RestituteThe Survivors Trust (All Survivors) - The Survivors Trust - Rape & Sexual Abuse Services UK24/7 Survivor Helpline (All Survivors) - 24/7 Rape and Sexual Abuse Support LineSexual Assault Resource Centre (All Survivors) - Find a rape and sexual assault referral centre - NHS

You're listening to Talking Taboos: The Podcast… where we deep dive into a range of taboo topics to try and better understand what's going on, why they are taboo, and how taboo and stigma impact people's experiences. Ultimately, we want our work to help people feel seen, understood, and better able to get the support they deserve.Over the next few episodes, we're going to be exploring a taboo that many people believe deserves more attention, sexual assault by someone you know. We’ll be chatting to people with lived experience of sexual assault within a friendship group and also those working to support.In today’s episode, to help us understand what sits behind this topic, I'm joined by Annika Spalding from Rape Crisis England & Wales, our partner charity for this topic. Annika does fantastic work in sexual violence and survivor support, and as Marketing and Communications Coordinator, she manages communications and hosts the charity’s member peer-support spaces.We have wide-ranging and honest conversation with Annika. We talk about how it feels when the person responsible for an assault is someone you trust, and the ripple effects an assault can have across a friendship group. We also talk about what good support looks like, how language shapes whether someone feels believed, and some genuinely hopeful stories of survivors reclaiming their lives through writing, music, fundraising and community.Please note that this episode includes detailed discussion of sexual violence and rape.  There are support links in the Show notes. Please listen with care.--- Annika closed our conversation with a wish: for this to stop being a taboo, and to become something we simply talk about — because, as she put it, when we talk about the things that are cloaked in shame and judgement  of, we release ourselves from that shame.So if anything in this episode has felt familiar, we hope this conversation is a small step towards that. You are not alone, and you are not to blame, not for what happened, and not for how hard it might be to say out loud.For support after rape or sexual assault, Rape Crisis England & Wales run a free, confidential helpline, open 24 hours a day, on  0808 500 2222  — or you can find your nearest local Rape Crisis centre at rapecrisis.org.uk.If you're in Scotland, you can contact Rape Crisis Scotland on 08088 01 03 02. In Northern Ireland, you can reach Nexus NI at nexusni.org. In Wales, support is also available through New Pathways at newpathways.org.uk.For emotional support around any experience of crime, including sexual violence, you can also contact Victim Support on 0808 168 9111.If you're in immediate danger, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.As Annika reminded us: there is life after. People write. They sing. They shave their heads and raise money with their best friend by their side. They laugh again, properly, and find their own reasons to. Whatever this experience has been for you, it does not define the whole of who you are.Thank you for listening to Talking Taboos: The Podcast. Links and details for everything mentioned are in the show notes, and we'll be back in 2 weeks with another episode talking about sexual assault by someone you know. 

Welcome back to part two of our Today's Taboos launch event from 2025. If you haven't listened to part one yet, that's where we unveil the year's four taboos - silent suicidal thoughts, surviving child sexual abuse, body bias, and shamed SEND parenting - we'd recommend starting there. In this second half, our director Flo and chair of trustees Louise are joined by Benji Kusi, inclusion and wellbeing consultant, author and content creator, for a conversation about what needs to change, followed by a live audience Q&A.Benji reflects on the resurgence of restrictive body ideals online, the specific barriers men - and particularly men navigating multiple intersecting identities - face in talking about suicidal thoughts, and what it means to hold your ground when you're publicly criticised. Flo and Louise pick up threads from part one on gaslighting within the SEND parenting experience and the emotional toll of "helpful" content that quietly reinforces guilt.The conversation then opens out to the audience, who bring some of the hardest questions of the evening: how to balance privacy and openness when supporting survivors of sexual violence, how to reach people who aren't already receptive to these conversations, the power of storytelling and representation, gender identities in taboo experiences, and - in the final question - whether empathy has limits, including for people who cause serious harm.Please note that this episode includes discussion of suicidal thoughts, body image and weight stigma, child sexual abuse, and sexual violence, including reflections on empathy for perpetrators of these harms. There are links to support in the show notes. Please listen with care.Closing Statement / SignpostingThank you for joining us for part two of our Today's Taboos launch. If any of what's been discussed has resonated with you, please know you're not alone, and there is support available. If you want to learn more about the taboos we covered last year there are episodes from our events on Silenced Suicidal Thoughts, Suviving Child Sexual Abuse and SEND parenting available.If you're in immediate danger, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.For support around suicidal thoughts, Samaritans are free to call, any time, on 116 123, or you can contact CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, at thecalmzone.net. For support specifically around men's mental health and wellbeing, you can reach Future Men at futuremen.org.For support around surviving child sexual abuse or other sexual violence, you can contact The Survivors Trust at thesurvivorstrust.org, or Rape Crisis at rapecrisis.org.uk.If you're worried about your own thoughts or behaviour towards children, confidential support is available through Stop It Now on 0808 1000 900, or at stopitnow.org.uk.For support around body image, weight stigma, or an eating disorder, you can contact Beat, the UK's eating disorder charity, on 0808 801 0677, or at beateatingdisorders.org.uk. You can also contact Obesity UK at obesityuk.org.uk.And for support around SEND parenting, you can contact the National Autistic Society at autism.org.uk, or IPSEA at ipsea.org.uk for advice on SEND and EHCPs.All of these links and details are in the show notes.

In this episode of Talking Taboos: The Podcast, we're taking you inside our annual Today's Taboos launch event from 2025, where we revealed the four taboos our research identified as needing the most urgent attention for the year.Every year, Talking Taboos sets out to answer a strange question: what are people not talking about? Our directors Flo Nolan,  Kat Jennings and chair of trustees Louise take us through the research process behind the year's report - from long-listing and expert interviews to public opinion polling - and reveal the four taboos for that year: silent suicidal thoughts, surviving child sexual abuse, body bias, and shamed SEND parenting.Along the way, they share some of the data behind why these particular topics rose to the top - including the striking gap between how many of us are personally affected by these taboos and how few of us have had a meaningful conversation about them - and reflect on what ties all four together: a lack of language, a lack of empathy, and a culture that's often quicker to judge than to understand.This episode is part one of two from the night. Part two picks up with a panel discussion and audience Q&A, continuing in next week.Please note that this episode includes discussion of suicidal thoughts, child sexual abuse, and body image and weight stigma. Links to support are shared in the show notes. Please listen with care.If any of the topics raised in this episode have resonated with you, please know you're not alone, and there is support available.When life is difficult you can call Samaritans for free, any time, on 116 123, or find support from Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) at thecalmzone.net. https://www.thecalmzone.net/guides/body-imageFor support around surviving child sexual abuse, you can contact The Survivors Trust at thesurvivorstrust.org.For support around SEND parenting, you can contact the National Autistic Society at autism.org.uk, or IPSEA at ipsea.org.uk for advice on SEND and EHCPs.Links and details are in the show notes. Part 2 of this episode continues next week.

In this episode of Talking Taboos: The Podcast, we're taking you inside a live event held the day after World Suicide Prevention Day 2025. We brought together lived experience, mental health expertise and community voices to talk about one of our most silenced taboos: suicidal thoughts.When life is difficult, Samaritans are here, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.The conversation is chaired by Dr Yansie Rolston. Yansie is  an incredible facilitator and trainer  who designs, implements and evaluates actionable strategies on health equality and community cohesion. Her work covers Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean. Where she co-creates  culturally appropriate health and social care projects for marginalised communities.She's joined by Merrick Joseph, a London firefighter and grandfather of one.,  Merrick shares his own experience and talks about the culture shift happening within the fire service around mental health and stigma.Lynette Charles, CEO of Mind in Haringey, Chair of Mind in London and Black Thrive Haringey Lead, also joins Yansie and Merrick. W Lynette brings both her professional  experience and an important personal lens to the conversation.Together Yansie, Lynette and Merrick  unpack the difference between having a suicidal thought and having a plan, the role guilt and shame play in keeping people silent, and why so many of us - whether we're firefighters, parents, or just exhausted by daily life - hold these thoughts alone rather than risk saying them out loud. Along the way, they talk about what actually helps: naming the thought, finding ‘your reason,’ noticing behaviour change in the people around you, and building spaces - whether that's a fire station mess table, a barber shop, or a living room - where honesty doesn't feel like a risk.Please note that this episode includes discussion of suicidal thoughts and suicide.Please listen with care.Closing Statement / SignpostingIf anything raised in this episode has affected you, please know you're not alone, and there is support available.If you're in immediate danger or are worried about someone else who you think is, please call 999 or go to your nearest A&E.For support any time, day or night, Samaritans are free to call on 116 123. You can also text SHOUT, for free and confidential support, on 85258. CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, are available from 5pm to midnight on 0800 58 58 58, or you can find them online at thecalmzone.net. And if you're under 35 - or you're a parent or carer worried about a young person - Papyrus HOPELINE247 is there for you on 0800 068 41 41.If you work in a high-pressure environment, like the emergency services, Mind's Blue Light Programme offers mental health support built specifically for you — that's mind.org.uk/bluelight.And for local support, including crisis cafés, Mind in Haringey is open nine till ten, seven days a week, you'll find them at mindinharingey.org.uk.If there's one thing to take from tonight's conversation, it's this: find your mess table. Whether that's a colleague, a friend, or a stranger on the other end of a phone line, talking to someone, anyone, makes it lighter to carry.All of these links and details are in the show notes.