Voices for Children is the continuation of a personal journey begun by Ann McCarron, Recreational Sports Director at Assumption College. In the summer of 1998, Ann rode her bike across the United States in 50 days, stopping at advocacy centers and town halls to personally give voice to this challenging topic. When she returned, Ann established an annual event to raise funds and awareness for local agencies committed to child advocacy. She continues to speak out, inspiring others to do the same. Protecting our children means making a community decision to break the silence.

Ann's son is almost seven years old. when she looks at him, she think about how often i drop him off at school, drive him to baseball practice or watch him play on the playground. She worries about his safety all the time, even when she tucks him in at night, she pray that he is safe and sound. As she watches him, her mind flashes back to herself at his age. When she was seven, her parents dropped her off with someone they trusted. Yet I was not safe and sound.

Here is the story she promised she would never tell:
When I was seven, I became sick. My parents rushed me to a hospital. They entrusted me to a pediatrician who they believed would heal me. For the next five years, this pediatrician sexually abused me. He told me I would go to jail if I told anyone. And I kept silent – until 20 years later.

As a mother and a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, I am determined that what happened to me shall not happen to my son. Or to anyone else’s son or daughter. Motherhood is the hardest role I have ever been given, and by far the most important. I have faced some big challenges in my life, but the biggest challenge of all is raising a child in a potentially dangerous world.

I believe that together, as parents, we can stop childhood sexual abuse.
We can patrol all we want. We can watch our children tirelessly. But we know we can never keep them in our sight 24 hours a day. Children need independence. They will be out of our direct supervision.

How can we protect them when we are not with them?
My parents never warned me about child sexual abuse because they didn't know it existed. It was not front-page news back then. Today, we have no excuse. We have the knowledge. We have opened the dialogue. We hear about it in the media. The sad part is that children today are suffering in the same way that I suffered many years ago, in spite of the front-page news. We have the voices to speak out. We need to use them.

Have you had a conversation with your children about sexual abuse?
It may not be comfortable. But please do it today. Let them know they can always speak to you. Teach them to speak up for themselves. Using your voice – our voice – is the way to end this devastating problem.

Don’t wait until your child is “just a little older”. I was only seven.