Book on child sexual abuse distributed to Island libraries

Mount Tryon - Library sites across the province are now better equipped to educate and inform the public about child sexual abuse prevention.
Janice Sherry, minister responsible for the status of women, announced recently that the Province, through the Women's Secretariat, has purchased 30 copies of the local book, "Beyond Silence: Voices of Childhood Sexual Abuse" to distribute to Island libraries.
"The book includes the inspiring stories of 14 brave Island women who have survived sexual abuse," said Sherry. "I commend these women for their courage to share their stories in an effort to prevent childhood sexual abuse from happening to others."
"Beyond Silence" is an editorial collective of writings, poems and images about the abuse these women lived with as children, the effect it had on their lives and how others can stop childhood sexual abuse.
SAGE, a local grassroots volunteer organization, came up with the idea to write a book as part of its commitment to educate and empower communities about child sexual abuse prevention. The book focuses on the knowledge and wisdom of adult survivors.
SAGE volunteer and member of the editorial collective for "Beyond Silence", Colleen MacQuarrie of Mount Tryon, has been a member of the SAGE board for about 20 years. She hopes by sharing what she went through as a child the prevention of child sexual abuse will get talked about.
"We have to understand that prevention is possible," MacQuarrie said. "We want to open up a dialogue and use the past to change the future."
MacQuarrie, who uses a pseudonym in the book as she recounts her abusive experiences, recalls being sexually abused when she was as young as five-years-old.
"Men thought it was their right," she said. "We need to create an atmosphere where women are seen as strong and valuable people, not as a man's property. Women are not slaves."
This is MacQuarrie's first time writing publicly about her survival of child sexual abuse. She described her writing experience as challenging, but said it was a strong bonding process for participating survivors.
"Beyond Silence" is available at libraries Islandwide. It can be purchased at most Island bookstores and ordered online through the SAGE P.E.I. website at www.sagepei.org.