Former Victim Walks in Victory

Angela Williams, Founder of VOICE Today, uses her childhood sexual abuse trauma to help break the silence and cycle of child sexual abuse worldwide

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries


LANGHORNE, PA (ANS) -- I was recently a speaker at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference held from August 11-14, 2010 at the Philadelphia Biblical University, Langhorne, PA, and organized by Marlene Bagnull.

A recent picture of Angela Williams

Among the hundreds of writers that gathered there, was Angela Williams, the founder of the VOICE Today, Inc., and THE VOICE MOVEMENT, an effort to break the silence and the cycle of child sexual abuse.

“As a survivor of incest, suffering in silence for 14 years at the brutal hands of my stepfather, my passion has become helping others learn to break the silence barrier of child sexual abuse and to make a difference in the lives of children in the next generation,” she told me.

I was so moved with what Angela shared with me about her life and ministry, that I felt I needed to share her story with you, so here it is:

“Mommy, it hurts.”
“What hurts?”
“He hurts. He hurts me, Mommy.”
“How does he hurt you?”
“He hurts me down there, Mommy.”
“He does spank you a little hard, but he just wants you to be a good girl. I’ve got to go to work…”
“Mommy, please don’t leave me here. Please, Mommy, please don’t go…”

With these heartbreaking words, spoken by Angela Williams and documented in her memoir, From Sorrows to Sapphires, the foundation was laid for the emergence of VOICE Today, Inc. The nonprofit organization was founded in 2008 to break the silence and cycle of child sexual abuse through awareness, prevention and healing programs.

Angela as a toddler

From the time she was a toddler, Williams says she was groomed into a life of horrific sexual abuse that started with extreme physical torture. Her predator used threats, fear and intimidation to maintain control and force compliance. She silently suffered the physical, emotional and sexual abuse that started at age 3 and continued for 14 years at the hands of her stepfather. This frequent routine of sexual abuse at home made her vulnerable to a second perpetrator, and Williams was fondled by a stranger in a department store while squatting down looking at dolls. She was raped hundreds of times over 14 years -- events that created the mental and emotional anguish that dominated her life.

At age 17, she told me that could bear no more and attempted suicide to escape the effects of the heinous abuse. After a long night during which she took a bottle of sleeping pills and drank half a bottle of vodka, she broke her silence to the parents of her best friend and, subsequently, to her mother. While her mother had witnessed some of the physical, verbal and emotional abuse, she could not grasp the confession of sexual abuse. She gave Williams a trash bag, 10 minutes to gather her belongings, and asked her to leave the home. Her stepfather warned that he would kill her mother if Williams ever told, so that threat kept her bound in a silent prison of pain, even as she worked to find refuge on the street.
Although the abuse ended at age 17, the pain remained through tormenting memories, feelings of rejection, abandonment, shame, guilt, as well as self-destructive behaviors manifested in addiction, isolation, depression and self-condemnation. Williams suffered constant waves of extended trauma and found few resources to heal. Well-meaning family members offered obliging advice to “just forget about it and go on with your life.” Counseling was cost prohibitive, and the shame of incest and societal stigma seemed to solidify her emotional isolation.

Angela, aged seven

Williams says that she is not alone, as millions around the world suffer the trauma of child sexual abuse. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four girls and one in six boys in the U.S. will be sexually abused before the age of 18. Only one in 10 will ever tell, and 90 percent of child sexual abuse cases are committed by someone the child knows, loves and trusts.

Data is sparse, and sexual abuse statistics vary between countries and reports, but are consistently alarming: One country’s research indicates that up to 36 percent of girls and 29 percent of boys have suffered child sexual abuse; another study reveals up to 46 percent of girls and 20 percent of boys have experienced sexual coercion as reported by the 57th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

The majority of victims suffer for a lifetime and American society endures the social ills that are the consequences of child sexual abuse. The following percentages show how child sexual abuse leads to some of the most damaging and prevalent social problems in America and around the world:

* Drug and alcohol dependence (70 to 80 percent are survivors of child sexual abuse).
* Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, eating disorders (80 to 90 percent).
* Suicidal thoughts/attempts (20 to 30 percent).
* Sexual promiscuity that leads to teen pregnancy (60 percent).
* Prostitution (more than 90 percent have been sexually abused).
* Serial molesters may have as many as 400 victims and some reports indicate they have on average 117 victims.

* Seventy to 80 percent of serial rapists report they were sexually abused as children.

“These statistics could never quantify the damage done to a life lived in shame, distrust, self-mutilation and isolation,” she told me. “The effects lead to difficulty in forming long-term relationships—physical and spiritual -- and becomes a determining factor in one’s ability to create a healthy marriage and raise emotionally, physically and spiritually whole children. It is the beginning of a vicious cycle, which can span throughout generations.”

The epidemic of child sexual abuse warrants urgent attention and VOICE Today is an organization devoted to every aspect of child sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Through awareness initiatives, prevention workshops and healing/restoration programs, VOICE Today is committed to its mission of breaking the silence and cycle of childhood abuse. Williams is confident that this will be achieved when all children have a place to disclose and get help, when discussion about child sexual abuse is acceptable in normal conversation, and when survivors are seen as powerless victims who are deserving of protection, support, encouragement and compassion—not willing participants who were capable of giving informed consent.

VOICE Today operates on the helm of six strategic core initiatives: 1) creating The VOICE Circle of Safety; 2) Launching The VOICE Movement; 3) establishing The Child Sexual Abuse Public Policy Center; 4) creating The Center for Healing Resources; 5) establishing The Protection of Children Center; and 6) initiating a program for recovering predators.

Book cover

“One child suffering is too many,” Williams said. and optimistically, she believes that a trained vigilant society can stand up to this evil and protect the next generation of children.

Delivered from the bondage of child sexual abuse, Angela Williams walks in victory and remains a crusader for the cause of awareness, prevention and healing. She wants to share that freedom and encourage other survivors to break their silence and release the power that “the secret” holds over them.

By sharing her journey of faith and perseverance, she encourages survivors on the path to healing that leads to a loving God. The Christ-centered programs that VOICE Today offers introduces survivors to a loving, forgiving and nurturing God. It also provides them an opportunity to heal in a safe and understanding community. Williams has a calling on her life to mentor survivors in healing and speak out internationally on the issue.

Hundreds of survivors attended her conferences and were set free through the power of God in Bulgaria recently. The VOICE Today team presented prevention and healing workshops across the country. In addition, Angela’s book, translated into Bulgarian, was provided to those stepping on the path of healing. From Sorrows to Sapphires and other VOICE Today educational materials have been translated into Bulgarian.

Healing is only the first step, as VOICE Today also prepares survivors to impact the world by equipping them with the tools to help protect the next generation. Williams believes that child sexual abuse is predictable and preventable. Her passion is to facilitate prevention workshops, support groups and retreats to give survivors a safe and nurturing place to heal.

Williams has found that many people question what prevention is. She defines the term as learning to reduce the risk of child sexual abuse and communicating with children about personal boundaries and the power of their “NO” voice. The organization outlines 10 Power of Prevention Points, or “POP Points” that can help every adult protect a child:

1. Monitor one-on-one interaction between adult and child. How?
a. Drop in unexpectedly.
b. Ask how the time was spent, and pay attention to body language and eye contact.
2. Teach your child that sex, and any sexual conduct or coercion between an adult or older youth and a child, is a crime.
3. Teach your child about personal boundaries and personal power, and be the source of information about sex.
4. Give your child a plan of protection if threatened:
a. SCREAM “NO” forcefully.
b. RUN.
c. TELL.
5. Teach your child proper anatomical names of their private parts.
6. Talk about sex and sexual abuse. Ask your child if anyone makes them feel uncomfortable or has touched their private parts or asked them to touch theirs. Be that direct.
7. Tell your child you will always believe them and that it is your job to protect them.
8. Keep the computer in a centralized location, install content control and monitoring software; set parental controls, and monitor all chat rooms, online messaging, email and social networking sites.
9. Teach your child to never keep secrets from you and to tell—no matter what the leveraged threat against them, against those they love, or maybe even you.

10. Always act on suspicions of child sexual abuse—a moment of indecision may cost a child his or her innocence for a lifetime.

Workbook cover

“These prevention points can be practiced and shared with other adults. VOICE Today has a menu of workshops available at www.voicetoday.org that offer valuable training for topics such as talking to children about sexuality, their private parts, and personal boundaries, using age-appropriate materials,” said Angela.

“Workshops also address the increased risks to a child before, during and after a divorce. VOICE Today also presents important information on the “grooming” behavior of predators.”

Williams observes firsthand the power of education, causing action to protect children, and influencing others to speak out on the issue.

Williams is a recipient of the 2011 Women of Influence awarded by Life Changers International. The Life Changers Club International (LCCI) bestows the award to women who donate their time, resources, ability and influence to positively impact the lives of others. “It is important to show appreciation to these selfless individuals who have done so much to empower and change the lives of countless others,” said Joy Abiodun, president of Life Changers.

In addition to her memoir, From Sorrows to Sapphires, Williams recently published Pathway to Healing (in collaboration with Carolyn Forchè), and Tough Talk to Tender Hearts (in collaboration with Liza Scales). She works tirelessly on her vision for VOICE Today to help change the world.

Angela Williams and VOICE Today are models of how individuals can face down the issue and impact of child sexual abuse and heal -- finding true joy, friendships and peace -- perhaps for the first time ever. They are also a model for how a church, community, PTA, social group and other organizations can band together, and become educated so that their world is a safe place and a healing, compassionate environment for survivors.
How can we help?

“You can take this story and use it for motivating your circle of contacts to make an important and significant difference in the lives of all the children around you. You can speak out about the horrors of child sexual abuse by simply starting discussions, by telling friends what you have read here. You can contact VOICE Today and sponsor programs in your community,” says Angela Williams.

For more information, please visit www.voicetoday.org.

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Dan Wooding, 70, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 200 countries. You can follow Dan on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. He is the author of some 44 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, press this link.Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.