One Woman: Ending Sexual Abuse of Children Through Verse

The woman in this article is fighting toward what we all want to see happen - to end the plague of abuse and neglect to our children. She, like the survivors among the archives here, is directly fighting it through her words.   I'd love to attend one of the workshops mentioned.  This is, indeed, very inspiring.

- Joanna Stoane

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Poetry With a Purpose: Woman Works to End Sexual Abuse of Children Through Verse

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 7/7/2006

Jul. 7--Her poetry is of pain, pedophiles and stolen innocence. Her mission is to protect children from predators. Her primary weapons are information and poetic verses that describe the crude reality that victims of childhood sexual abuse face.

I used to be a lot more optimistic

Before I knew the statistic that one in three will wake with crimson stained sheets

And their souls shall bleed their innocence like our ancestors' unwanted children

Burdens will be left to carry heavier than me

Pain will become their solace and lying their hobby

They will mouth words but won't speak

It is a sad state of affairs we're in

When the boogie man no longer resides under their beds

But in between their sheets

Those words were penned by Yushima Cherry. She is 28, a mother of two. She also runs her own business, called blackpoetree workshops.

Most of Cherry's workshops involve uplifting projects meant to build bonds of sisterhood. The workshops have titles such as "Manicure Night" and "Spa Day," "Poetic Expressions" and "Jewelry Making." But one workshop title stands out from the rest: "Abolishing Childhood Sexual Abuse." It's the only workshop with parts I and II.

Cherry said ending childhood sexual abuse must be a bigger priority, not only because it leaves victims scarred, but also because it spawns a wide variety of other social ills, such as teenage pregnancy and the poverty that often ensues.

"It effects us economically, socially," she said. "So if we don't abolish this thing, this vicious cycle (will) continue."

In her workshops, at the Wisconsin African-American Women's Center, 3020 W. Vliet St., Cherry addresses topics ranging from the signs of abuse to how sexual predators use secrets, games and guilt to keep their victims silent. She has designed some of those workshops specifically for children ages 16 and younger.

She deals with issues from the dicey situations that can ensue when victims or caretakers report childhood sexual abuse, to the dangers of some parental practices, such as writing children's names on book bags or coats.

Writing a child's name on clothing or book bags is bad idea, Cherry said, because those items could fall into the hands of a sexual predator who could use the child's name to lure kids by claiming to know them.

Since she began her workshops in June, Cherry said, three children have disclosed to her that they were victims of sexual abuse. In one case, she said, the disclosure is believed to be the child's first. She says the case has been referred to child protection authorities.

Her workshops so far have ranged from a half-dozen to nearly a dozen participants at each session. Workshop fees are $15 for one adult, $25 for couples and $15 for two children.

Lynn Sheets, medical director of the Child Protection Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, said forums such as those Cherry is conducting on abuse are important because they provide an additional venue for victims to disclose abuse.

"You're talking about something that is extremely common, that many people don't talk about and often won't make a disclosure at the time it happens because it's embarrassing or it's a family member," Sheets said. "There's lots of reasons people don't report at the time. And there are lots of adults who were molested as children and never addressed" the problems they suffer from as a result.

Sheets was not endorsing Cherry's workshops and expressed concerns about some of Cherry's advice, such as having a child victim of sexual abuse disclose to a therapist first in certain situations instead of going directly to police.

"I don't think you can make a blanket statement on the best way to disclose," Sheets said, suggesting that those who wish to report sexual abuse should contact the Child Protection Center.

Break the silence

In her workshops, Cherry deals with some of the trying situations that victims may face, such as when a young victim may be faced with deciding whether to make a report that could land a parent or caretaker in jail. Her advice is to break the silence despite the costs.

"It's not going to be easy all the time once you disclose," Cherry said. "You're going to deal with some people who may not believe you. But in the end, you are given that power back over yourself, over your body, by breaking that silence."

She offered advice for parents who might suspect that a child is at risk of being sexually abused: Trust your intuition.

"You have a sixth sense for a reason. And if in your gut, you feel something is not right, nine times out of 10, it's not."

Participants in Cherry's workshops on sexual abuse sometimes ask her what moved her to address the subject.

Her poetry offers some hints.

as i watch her play by the lake with a friend

i see pedophiles watching her hoping to dig in

and i wonder how i can protect her from these sick minded freaks of nature

who prey on the small and weak

until i become overwhelmed with fear and consumed with grief

and then i know what i must do to protect this child of mine

keep her at my bosom and their necks at my heel

until they lose sight of these children

and what they want to steal

For more information about blackpoetree workshops, call (414) 828-2774 or send an e-mail to blackpoetreeworkshops@yahoo.com. To report childhood sexual abuse, call the Child Protection Center at (414) 277-8984.

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