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Silent No More: A Veteran Political Activist's Perspective
Robin Tyler
Robin Tyler, a well-known veteran of grassroots organizing and political activism, played a critical role in the passage of the California Circle of Trust bill. As executive director of the Equality Campaign, a national movement to promote same-sex marriage rights, Tyler was not normally associated with the fight to protect abused children—until 2005. But Tyler has a heart of gold and resolve of steel. When she heard about California's outrageous sex crime laws, she immediately offered her help, and was there at every step of the way, counseling, organizing and cheering. It was Tyler who, during the tough days when some liberal groups were unwilling to fight for a Republican-sponsored bill, broke the logjam, relentlessly hammering her old allies to do the right thing and join our coalition. She is also a member of PROTECT's national advisory board.
Children are the one group of people who absolutely do not have any civil rights in this country. They cannot vote. They cannot contribute money to politicians.
Very few people have heard their cries when they have been sexually abused. The majority of pedophiles know the child they rape. Many of them live with that child.
Up until this month, in California, if the child's molester lived within the home, and was found guilty of a felony, the judge could determine if the perpetrator should be sent to prison or to therapy. Now, in California, the guilty perpetrator will go to jail. Now, in California, the child will not be forced to sit with their abuser in therapy, to 'work it out'.
We at PROTECT heard these children, whose silent screams have been muffled by the court and the political system. We at PROTECT, vow, to dedicate our lives to making sure that sexually abused children in every state in this country get justice, and that justice does not end at the front door of their homes. We will speak for those who are not listened to. We will fight for those too small, too scared, and too scarred by abuse to fight for themselves. We will not rest until every perpetrator of child sexual abuse, family, friends, or strangers, are brought to justice.
We will not back down, compromise, or accept anything less.
Copyright © 2005 Robin Tyler. All rights reserved.
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