In this deeply moving conversation, Shannon sits down with writer and advocate Kat Mackay to explore the complex and often hidden dynamics of grooming and sexual assault.

Before listening, it may help to know that Kat lives with Partial Dissociative Identity Disorder (P-DID) and throughout the conversation they refer to themselves using “we” and “us.” This reflects the way their internal system experiences and expresses identity, and we invite listeners to approach this with curiosity, respect and understanding.

Kat speaks candidly about a childhood marked by isolation and a lack of safety within their home environment. In the absence of secure family relationships, several trusted adults entered their life through childhood interest based coaching and mentoring spaces. These figures became important role models — offering encouragement, stability and a sense of belonging during a time when Kat had very little of that elsewhere.

For a young person searching for safety and acceptance, mentorship can feel like a lifeline. But Kat’s story also reveals how those spaces of trust can sometimes be misused and manipulated. One mentor ultimately used that position of trust to introduce Kat to a prominent public figure who would go on to groom and sexually assault them.

Throughout this conversation, Kat reflects on the insidious nature of grooming, how power and influence can distort trust, and the long-lasting impacts these experiences can have on identity, relationships and personal safety.

Together, Shannon and Kat explore:

• how grooming relationships develop and why they can be so difficult to recognise

• the ways trauma shapes identity and self-protection

• the courage required to speak about experiences that society often prefers to ignore

• the ongoing process of reclaiming agency and rebuilding safety after trauma
  
  

This is not an easy conversation, but it is an important one.

As you listen, we gently invite you to meet this story with care:
care for Kat, who has chosen to share deeply personal experiences, and care for yourself, particularly if themes of trauma or abuse are close to home.

Stories like this remind us why creating safe, survivor-centred spaces for truth-telling matters — and why listening with compassion can be a powerful act of solidarity.