Dedication

• Author: Loree Armstrong Beniuk, Jo-Anne Hughes, and Jack Reynolds
• Pages: 9-11

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the many individuals over the years who con-

tributed to the work of the Child Witness Centre in providing support

for child victims, including dedicated staf‌f, very capable members of the

Board of Directors, and many others who volunteered their services in vari-

ous ways. It is also dedicated to the many individuals and organizations in

the community that have f‌inancially supported the agency. Special thanks

in that regard to Phyllis and Gerry Haack and the Sertoma Foundation,

and to the Kitchener Conestoga Rotary Club. Proceeds from the sale of

this book will go to the Child Witness Centre serving Waterloo Region and

Wellington County.

Citizens Concerned with Crimes Against Children (Cs), later renamed

the Child Witness Centre (CWC), originated in 1981. Media reports of

two child sexual abuse cases stimulated concerned citizens in Kitchener-

Waterloo (K-W) and London to gather 40,000 signatures on a petition to the

Minister of Justice, seeking tougher sentencing. The minister urged citizens

to bring the issue of child sexual abuse to the aention of the public. Led

by local nurse Judy Harding, community volunteers in K-W acknowledged

the lack of community services and prevention programs, an insensitivity

of courts to victims and their families, and the public lack of understanding

about the facts of sexual abuse, and they joined together to form Cs.

A Board of Directors was established. Volunteers educated themselves

about child sexual abuse by researching materials, interviewing profession-

als, and meeting with adults who had experienced sexual abuse as children.

Cs embarked on a public education program for parents and teachers,