A Canada-wide plan to put an end to child sexual abuse was launched in the Capital on Wednesday.
Surveys suggest one in two females and one in three males will be victims of unwanted sexual acts at some point during their lifetimes; 80 per cent of those acts will be committed when those victims are under the age of 21.
CTV Ottawa weekend anchor Kimothy Walker is one of the co-founders of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Network
In fall 2006, Walker publicly disclosed that she was sexually abused at a sleepover when she was nine years old. She says it was a painful secret that she kept for far too long.
"It made me feel really strong to finally deal with a 30-year-old secret and actually speak out and publicly say it happened to me. And then have the best possible outcome," said Walker.
Nation-wide mission
She is now embarking on a nation-wide mission to help others dealing with similar childhood experiences.
Those behind the network say they hope it will help create awareness and lift guilt from victims who think the abuse is somehow their fault.
The network is co-founded by Ron Jette who is also an abuse survivor and says he was placed in the foster care of a convicted pedophile twice.
"From the age of eight, I saw sexual, physical and emotional abuse at almost every turn. And I often saw it all at once," he said.
Ron Ensom, an expert in the field, says it's important for victims of child abuse to talk about it.
"Talk to somebody. Get out there and talk to somebody. To let it out will help you," he said.
With a report from CTV's John Hua
