Isolde Raftery
speaker
914 appearances
3 recordings
1 series
first heard Jun 2026
last heard 6d ago
Isolde Raftery’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 3 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 1.
Appearances
Twenty five years later, here we are.
After Paul told me his story, I recounted it to a few people whose opinions I value.
I wanted their reactions.
All expressed disbelief.
The story seemed too good to be true, they said.
Was I sure about this guy?
I was defensive at first.
Yes, of course I trusted him.
While I appreciated their honest responses, I was also annoyed with them.
Reactions like theirs can prevent victims from coming forward because they fear people won't believe them.
but more importantly, over the past few months, I've come to know Paul well.
We've spent hours talking.
I know his real name, where he works, where he attends church, and that he gains nothing from lying.
I've observed him sweating and stammering and crying throughout our interactions.
I've asked him the same questions in multiple ways, and he's never strayed from his story.
I should add that it's not unusual for people to question accounts of heinous abuse.
A domestic violence prosecutor explained this phenomenon to me years ago.
She said she doesn't present every lurid detail in court because jurors can be overwhelmed and end up blaming victims.
I've worried that sharing too much of my fact-checking process in this episode would reinforce the false stereotype that victims lie about abuse.
But as I've said, I don't want you to doubt his story.
Showing 441–460 of 914 · page 23 of 46
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