After four years of trying to have a child sexual abuse education program adopted for schools in the state, Rep. Joyce Maker of Calais finally has been successful in getting legislation enacted. LD 1180, An Act To Require Education in Public Preschool Programs and Elementary Schools Regarding Child Sexual Abuse, became law after the Maine Senate and House of Representatives overrode Governor LePage's veto on June 30.
     Rep. Maker points out that the testimony of Robbinston native Kayla Garriott, a rape and incest survivor who formed the nonprofit organization Breathe the AIR (Abuse, Incest, Rape) to break the silence about sexual abuse and provide support for others, was crucial to getting the bill passed. "I would say that without her it may not have been possible," says Maker, who read Garriott's testimony on the House floor the day that the bill was presented. "When the governor vetoed the bill, I read her words: 'I was roughly 10 years old. He gave me a wine cooler and told me we were going to play a game. We sat on the porch with a deck of cards, playing Go Fish and War. The prize if I won, or even if I didn't win, was candy. I liked the Sour Patch Kids the best. He went inside to get something. I was deciding which candy I would eat next. He brought me another wine cooler. They tasted like punch, but it made me feel different. He then set two small circular pills on the table -- they looked like candy. I didn't want them, but he told me it would ruin the fun of the game. I didn't know at the time but those small candy‑like pills were Valium. Between the alcohol, sugar and now Valium, I had no control of my body. He could do whatever he wanted, and I couldn't say no or fight him off. I had no control. He was the stereotype of a stranger that lured me into 'a rape van' by offering candy. He was not a stranger -- he was my father.'"
     Rep. Maker comments that Garriott's testimony "had everything to do" with the bill passing. "You could hear a pin drop in the House."
     Maker had worked closely with the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Department of Education in presenting the bill. "I also believed that I had the support of the governor on this bill when I visited him prior to me presenting it. He in fact said it was time and that he would support it even if it was a mandate." However, LePage ended up vetoing the bill.
     In its testimony, the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault stated that half of the calls to its crisis and support line are by or about individuals under the age of 18. "Sexual abuse of children occurs in all communities at alarmingly high rates and can have a tremendous lifelong impact, including mental health issues, substance abuse, chronic disease and obesity and other concerns." The coalition also noted that according to surveys 86% of cases of abuse go unreported to authorities.
     The new law requires the commissioner of education to develop a model policy on child sexual abuse prevention education and response for public preschool programs and elementary schools. The model policy will be available to help school administrative units develop their own policies, which must be in place for the 2017B18 school year.

Notification about sex abuse criminals
     Another bill that Rep. Maker had introduced previously and had been frustrated with the results was one to ensure public notification of the location in Maine of U.S. citizens convicted in other countries of crimes related to child sexual abuse. Her bill in the last session was enacted, but she had been told that the task force that was to be convened to develop a notification procedure had not met. When she learned in February that the task force had indeed met and submitted a report, she asked the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to use the report and her bill to set up a procedure. The committee then killed her bill and developed its own bill, which was enacted after the House and Senate in May overrode the governor's veto. The new law authorizes a law enforcement agency to provide notice to the public to ensure public safety any documentation that it obtains from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that a person in their jurisdiction has been deported from Canada to the U.S. because he was convicted in Canada of a sex offense against a child.
     Noting that five of her bills were vetoed by the governor, Rep. Maker comments, "I guess you could say I was not on the good side of our chief executive, but the majority of my bills were for our children and constituents and I am okay with that. Constituents and children won."