Stories of Strength:
Guila Benchimol
Honoring the courage to heal
Dr. Guila Benchimol is a criminologist, consultant, educator, and longtime advocate for survivors who has dedicated her career to helping faith institutions and leaders confront and prevent sexual violence and abuses of power. A former SNAP board member, she serves as Senior Advisor on Research and Learning at the SRE Network and as Director of Faith-Based and Community Accountability at Ampersands Restorative Justice.
Guila’s approach to healing reflects the compassion and honesty she offers others. “Healing is specific to each person. No person’s healing journey is the same,” she says. For her, healing is ongoing—“a relationship with myself” that requires slowing down, choosing difficult steps, and accepting that some days will feel harder than others. She reminds us that courage takes many forms: moving forward, pausing, even saying “no” when once that choice was taken away. “Saying ‘no’ can be healing. It’s the no that we couldn’t say when other people said ‘yes’ for us.”
Guila is featured in the documentary Braving Healing, which follows six survivors through the complex, often contradictory paths of healing after childhood sexual abuse. Through raw stories—from reaching rock bottom to finding closure through justice—the film offers a grounded yet hopeful invitation to take the next step, however big or small.
