Rep. Bishop Shares Childhood Trauma with Council

By Jan Ransom
Philadelphia Daily News
March 30, 2012

http://articles.philly.com/2012-03-29/news/31254960_1_childhood-bishop-trauma

Louise Bishop was 12 years old when her stepfather stripped her of her innocence in the middle of the night inside their Georgia home.

The Philly Democrat shared her story Thursday with City Council, which voted 16 to 0 to pass a resolution sponsored by Councilmen Bill Greenlee and Denny O'Brien urging the state Legislature to move forward on bills that would protect victims of childhood sexual abuse. Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez was absent.

"No one really understands what these young men and women experience, unless you've been there," said Bishop. "No one understands how to treat them. No one understands what it feels like and no one is able to help them until a law is put into place . . . ."

Bishop, a former minister and radio talk-show host, held onto that bitter part of her past until last year, when she and other state lawmakers began to push for action on child-sexual-abuse legislation that would eliminate the statute of limitations and increase the requirements for reporting suspected abuse.

"We want to send a strong message on this," Greenlee said.

Councilman Jim Kenney added: "There should be no statute of limitations on the theft of people's childhood."