Order Claire's Book:
Childhood: IT SHOULD NOT HURT!
at AtlasBooks^®
Read an excerpt
Read more about Claire Reeves and MASA at http://www.againstsexualabuse.org or at http://www.childabuse.ws 

 
Claire Reeves C.C.D.C., is a nationally noted therapist, advocate and speaker on the subject of child abuse. She has appeared on radio and television programs, and at professional conferences nationwide. She is recognized as an expert witness and has been called on to testify in high-profile child abuse cases. Reeves' has worked extensively with survivors of child sexual abuse over the years as well as with other victims' rights advocates, whose tireless lobbying has helped to gain positive legal changes to enhance the rights of the most vulnerable victims of sexual abuse: our children. 

Reeves wrote Childhood: It Should Not Hurt! as a way to get information out to the public, but had some specific goals in mind when she set down to the task:

"After working with thousands of adult survivors of sexual abuse, this book was something I knew I had to do. I wanted to write something readable and straightforward. This sensitive topic is fraught with many legal issues before we even get to the long-term ramifications for survivors of child sexual abuse, who statistically have a higher rate of chemical and alcohol dependency and higher rates of depression than the rest of the population. While many survivors do more than just survive, issues often remain for the lifetime of the survivor.

Childhood: It Should Not Hurt! was written for anyone, the lay-person or the professional. There is help available for survivors as well as for parents of sexually abused children. Shocked parents are often so devastated that they are unable to cope with the legal and emotional concerns, and this book provides them with a list of national and international resources, and much information to help on all levels.

Childhood: It Should Not Hurt! will help to identify red flag behaviors, signs and symptoms of a sexually abused child, procedures that parents might experience within the courts, with police and social services. There is also information for non-offending parents on what to do and what not to do to protect your child. The legal system is far from perfect, but educating parents, professionals and the public will go a long way to protect our children. Supporting organizations that promote legal change like MASA will also help to chip away at archaic laws that are failing victims of sexual abuse. Although some areas are behind the times, there seems to be a trend happening. More and more regions are educating and making legal changes that make recognizing and protecting our children a little bit easier."