Johnnetta McSwain, Ph.D., MSW, from the mean streets of Birmingham, Alabama and from GED to Ph.D., Johnnetta McSwain, beat the odds. She is the recipient of the Emmy Award winning documentary, “The Road Beyond Abuse”, expert in Child Sexual Abuse (CSA), Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Sexual Violence (SV), published author, “Rising Above the Scars”, Victim Empowerment Specialist, Adjunct Seminar Instructor and Field Liaison at Clark Atlanta University (CAU) Whitney M. Young, Jr., School of Social Work, Coach, Program Development/workshop facilitator. She is an International Speaker extraordinaire who tells it like it is with wit, charm, and wisdom. Wearing her fabulous stilettos, she aids to empower and inspire individuals to move from hopelessness to hope by becoming of aware of their cycles that impede their life and take action to break them to reach their fullest potential in their life.
Born to an alcoholic mother and an absent father, the odds were unceremoniously stacked against her even as she drew her first breath. By the innocent age of five, she was viciously raped and incessantly battered by her three uncles while in the custody of her grandparents.
The all too real horror of Johnnetta’s formative years was not just her reality. Her slightly older sister and male cousin were also made to bear ruthless physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. As young, vulnerable children, they were bound, beaten, choked, threatened and forced to perform horrific sex acts by their uncles. At the tender age of eight, when most little girls can enjoy carefree security within the sanctuary of their homes, Johnnetta had contracted syphilis in hers.
The constant ravaging of Johnnetta’s body and mind served as a daily reminder that she was not wanted and not loved. Never allowed the liberty to make the missteps that often characterize adolescence, she was forced to sit outside stripped bare in the cold elements of the winter night. This was Johnnetta’s punishment for wetting the bed and resulted in a severe case of pneumonia.
As she entered her teen years, her victimization continued, now perpetrated against her by the men her mother brought home. In the absence of the love and guidance that every child has the right to enjoy, Johnnetta began shoplifting at twelve years old and eventually dropped out of high school at seventeen. By nineteen years old, she had given birth to her first son, applied for housing assistance, food stamps/ welfare; continuing in the warped tradition of her family. In the harsh world of the streets, she was introduced to drug dealers and started dealing drugs. At twenty-six, she bore her second son. In 2002, age 32, she packed up her house, rented the largest truck and drove to Georgia twice in one night. In 2003, at age 33, she entered college and 2015, she was the first doctor in her family, breaking every generational curse. Her objective is to empower victims of abuse, in order to transition from victim to victor.
