CALIFORNIA
Orange County Weekly
By Matt Coker Thu., Jun. 4 2015
An author and speaker who has appeared several times in OC Weekly and on ocweekly.com for her tireless advocacy on behalf of young sexual abuse victims–and who was herself molested years ago by a choir director at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Santa Ana–receives a well-deserved honor Friday.
Our Lady of Perpetual Protest: Joelle Casteix has spent the past five years fighting for Catholic Church sex-abuse victims. But there’s one molester she hasn’t nabbed yet: Her own
The Violence Prevention Coalition of Orange County (VPCOC) includes Joelle Casteix among its 19th annual Ambassador of Peace Awards recipients being feted starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday at Turnip Rose, 1570 Scenic Ave., Costa Mesa.
A former journalist, educator and public relations professional, Casteix has taken her own experience as a victim of child sex crimes and devoted her career to exposing abuse, advocating on behalf of survivors and spreading abuse prevention strategies for parents and communities. Since 2003, she has been the volunteer Western Regional Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. That has taken her around the world to expose abusers, help victims and train families, churches and communities to raise empowered children and keep communities safe from child sexual abuse.
She is the author of The Well-Armored Child: A Parents’ Guide to Preventing Abuse and The Compassionate Response: How to Help and Empower the Adult Victim of Child Sexual Abuse. You can keep up on what she is up to at Casteix.com.
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