First of all, thank you so much for inviting us here today. Secondly, I can't take my hat off: I have hat head.
I'm here first of all as a victim of sexual abuse. I'm the product of what happens to children who are sexually abused. It's always overwhelming that you are doing something finally about this.
I was sexually abused as a child. It destroyed my life. About 20 years ago, I was going to take my life. By the grace of God, I'm here today. Out of that, I founded an agency called the Canadian Centre for Abuse Awareness. I never expected it to grow, but I think the reason it has grown to what it is today is that it's so prevalent in our society. The statistics are so high, even the statistics that are quoted: one in three girls, one in six boys—those are the reported children.
I see the damage. So out of this, I started the agency. We now service 200,000 people a year and 130 agencies. We don't get any government funding. We do it just through donations and events.
Eight years ago we got a grant from the justice fund to do round table discussions for laws to protect children. Out of that, we developed “Martin's Hope” report. There are sixty recommendations in it. The number one recommendation for all the agencies, and we mean police, crown attorneys, children's aid societies—every one that was there—was minimum sentencing. It is absolutely critical that we give minimum sentences to pedophiles. Out of that report, as a matter of fact, the age of consent was one of our recommendations adopted by the present government. Word for word, it is the legislation that went through two years ago. So I thank you for that as well.
Minimum sentencing is something for which people don't understand the need. I understand, and I think most people do, that pedophilia is not curable—I don't believe—so we need to protect children. I think the word that has to get out is that we take it seriously. In Florida, for instance, if anyone perpetrates abuse on a child under 11 years of age, they get 25 years minimum sentencing and then electronic monitoring; we give them house arrest.
This is so critical. As I say, I see the damage. It costs our health care $4 billion a year just for women. I'm also an ordained minister; I go into the prisons, and I minister to the women. Eighty-five percent of the women in our prisons have been sexually abused. It's even higher for men. And It's cyclical. We have to start to really take it seriously. I see the damage. I have two messages today from people who are suicidal. I am very encouraged that finally you are doing something about.
It can't be a couple of months. In our report, the minimum sentencing recommendation for child pimping was five years. For child pornography, I believe it was minimum of two years. I encourage you to please not make it a couple of months or a couple of years.
They need, and I would encourage that they get, help when they're in there. We know that not every man or woman who has been sexually abused goes out and abuses, but every abuser has been sexually abused. It is something we need to take very seriously. The minimum sentencing is absolutely necessary—and again, for every crime.
I'm noticing too that it's not getting better. Ever since child pornography has become so rampant, it incites people to commit crime. A good example is the Holly Jones case. It was a crime of opportunity, but he was watching pornography and he acted out. It's inciting someone to go out and commit a crime against a child. Even for possession of child pornography, again there should be minimum sentencing.
I'm so encouraged by this government: that you are doing something about it. We offer our support. We have a national TV show, which I offer to you. With age of consent we did the same thing; we are very big about awareness. We will support you in any way we can: with our TV show; we have a magazine, an e-zine. We are already working on this. We have 12,000 names already in a campaign.
I know that the public are really anxious and are watching what you are going to do. I encourage you, please, on behalf of all the victims, to take this seriously. Make them tougher sentences: not just a month, not just a year, but a couple of years, please, as a minimum.