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	Sex Abuse Survivor Commends Senator Scott Brown By Ray Hershel WGGB February 23, 2011 http://www.wggb.com/Global/story.asp?S=14071290 CHICOPEE Mass. (WGGB) --Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown's new book "Against All Odds" has hit the bookstores. The book sheds new light on the senator's life growing up including revelations that he was sexually abused by a camp counselor at the age of 10. Local sexual abuse survivors like Kathy Picard are commending Senator Brown for telling his story," I think it's wonderful that being a male he came forward first of all and for him in the high status he's at to be able to come forward it's going to help a lot of people," says Picard. Picard who said her sexual abuse began at the age of five by her stepfather and lasted until she was 17 understands why sexual abuse victims are reluctant to come forward, "You delay, you have reasons, you have trigger points, it makes you not want to come forward," said Picard. And like Scott Brown, Kathy Picard eventually came forward more than 20 years after her abuse first began, "At 28, I felt it was time, I needed to help other people, I needed to feel within myself to come out and start talking about it, this is something buried deep inside you and you need to talk about it to feel good for yourself," said Picard. Picard says it's important for survivors to come forward especially young people who are sexually abused," It needs to be addressed in the schools, just like bullying, sexual abuse is a form of power and abuse and it needs to be talked about," said Kathy Picard . She says she'd like to see the Massachusetts Legislature pass a law removing the current 27-year statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases. Picard says she would also like to see Massachusetts do what the state of Illinois did and that's to mandate school districts to educate students on sexual abuse.
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