In honor of April being Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, we interviewed Nuna Gleason, the Executive Director of Wounded Healers International (WHI). Nuna founded WHI in 2018 to disrupt and transform cultures of sexual violence through preventative education, holistic support for survivors, and empowering women and girls to break the cycles of violence within their families and communities. Nuna is also a psychologist, public speaker, yoga teacher, and a survivor herself. She is also expecting her second child in June!
Nuna is collaborating with In Her Presence to give the Frances Warde residents workshop training related to self-defense, de-escalation training, and how to tell their own stories with dignity. She will also be working with us across our programming to initiate conversations with parents around child discipline. Nuna has participated in our Network of Immigrant Professionals program to work on networking skills and meet new people and graduated from our recent Cultural Doula Training program.
As outlined in her interview, Nuna works and fights to end the culture of sexual violence — both in Maine, and in her home country, Kenya.
In Her Presence (IHP): What is your favorite part of the work that you do?
Nuna Gleason (NG): I love to see the transformation that comes from being broken to being healed. Once survivors are healed, then they become empowered to use their voice and tell their story with dignity.
IHP: What is the hardest part of your work?
NG: Working to shift people’s mindset surrounding sexual violence and the shame. It is so hard to heal from sexual violence because no one wants to talk about it. It is especially hard when you are in a new country and a whole different culture that has many obstacles and systems of oppression. I try to help people shift their mindsets to be more open and vulnerable about sexual violence and adjust to new American norms, while recognizing their own history and culture. The hardest part is opening up people’s minds, and making sure they don’t give up on themselves! It is so easy to get discouraged when you have so many obstacles in your way.
IHP: What was the most difficult part of starting WHI?
NG: Putting myself out there in the public to face criticism, shame, and stigma. I started WHI before I went to university to study psychology. I realized that because I know myself very well and am self-aware, that allowed me to be able to handle the criticism, and to understand that this criticism often comes from ignorance. Once I understood that, and applied what I learned at university, I could let the criticism go and be confident in myself and my work to know that I am doing the right thing.
IHP: What are some of the strategies you use to help survivors heal and tell their stories with dignity?
NG: I try to get survivors to be comfortable with themselves, to be self-aware and vulnerable, and do the internal healing first before they try to tell their story. When they are ready, I work to remind them of the “mission” and the importance of their story, and to tell it from a place of advocacy and not a place of anger. Then, they can feel empowered and tell their story from a place of empowerment.
IHP: It must be hard running an international organization in both Maine and Kenya! What are some obstacles you face?
NG: I feel lucky that I am so passionate about my work that it does not feel like a job. I love that I get to exchange ideas and information from one culture to another every day. It is almost like running two different organizations. It is also hard to schedule things because of the 8 hours time difference!
IHP: What has surprised you most in your work?
NG: I am still shocked at the number of victims, the silence surrounding sexual violence, and the hesitancy of victims (both women and men) to come forward to report what happened to them. Even here in the U.S., there is so much shame and stigma, and still so much silence.
IHP: What projects and initiatives are you most excited about?
NG: I am looking forward to expanding my programs to reach more people, including Americans, and expanding my partnerships.
I am very excited to collaborate with In Her Presence to help heal the trauma women immigrants hold, and to help them heal physically and emotionally. I want to make sure that I help them get the skills and confidence they need to live and function in the U.S. once they leave the shelter or the Frances Warde Home.
I find that yoga is a very powerful way to help people heal. It helps to get you in tune with your body, to be present, and to be vulnerable. This vulnerability is so important to heal. I was hesitant about yoga myself when I first started in 2021, and now I am a certified teacher and use yoga in my work all the time.
[Nuna gained her yoga teaching certification in 2022 through SeaChange Yoga and teaches their Yoga for New Mainers class and serves on their board. She also teaches Empowerment Self Defense with Maine-based Prevention. Action. Change. to adults and young people throughout the state.]
IHP: How can the average person help to end the culture of sexual violence?
NG: I think that what people don’t realize is that everyone is affected by sexual violence. Everyone can do their own part to educate themselves about it, to be able to see the signs, to volunteer or donate to organizations doing the work, and to start conversations about it within your own circle of family and friends to create an openness around it.
Then, we can all build on these chains of advocacy and work to end the culture of sexual violence.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To learn more about Nuna and Wounded Healers International, visit their website: https://woundedhealersintl.org
