Self-advocates unveil
anti-abuse pamphlets
Wednesday June 12, 2002
At the annual conference of the Ontario Association for Community Living (OACL) June 5th, the Self-Advocates Council unveiled their newly-published pamphlets, Stop Abuse: What you can do to end the hurt, and You Have Rights! The Council hopes to have them distributed widely across the province, including the Peterborough area.

The OACL Self-advocates Council consists of individuals with intellectual disabilities who are speaking out against abuse. Their message is, "No one has the right to hurt you or make you feel bad or scared."

The pamphlets help people to understand what abuse is and what to do when it happens.

Lynda Nairn is a member of the Peterborough Chapter of People First, a group of self-advocates. She knows about abuse. As a child, she was sexually abused. Now she's speaking up about it.

"Abuse makes you lose your rights," says Lynda. "I got my rights back because I told my story."

Lynda is happy that the pamphlets have been published. She hopes they will be distributed now to all people with disabilities. "They'll help people to say no to abuse," she says.

For information on how to receive the pamphlet, contact Laurie Thompson at the OACL by phone (416) 447-4348 or by
e-mail laurie@acl.on.ca

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