BRUNSWICK — The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), in partnership with the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault ( MECASA) named Kate Marro of Brunswick as the recipient of 2012 Visionary Voice Award.
Marro is the director of Early Childhood Services at Woodford’s Family Services and serves as the vice chairwoman of the Sexual Assault Support Services of Midcoast Maine (SASSMM) board of directors, and maintains a steadfast commitment to activism on behalf of elder abuse victims.
“Kate took a painful issue (elder sexual abuse) and turned it into policy change which will better protect Maine’s most vulnerable citizens,” Elizabeth Ward Saxl, executive director of MECASA, said April 3 at the Blaine House in Augusta.
The national award was presented in conjunction with MECASA’s annual Blaine House Tea, which celebrates April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“My first contact with Kate was many years ago now, when she attended a meeting to tell the story of the sexual abuse of her grandfather and to highlight several significant system failures,” Ward Saxl said. “Her presentation there put a face on the issue and set into motion years of legal, policy, and practice changes which will help protect elders from abuse.”
The Visionary Voice Award is presented annually to individuals who create significant change related to sexual violence in their state and communities.
“We are proud to have activists like Kate in our community,” Sue Hall Dreher, executive director of SASSMM, said in a release. “Her commitment, knowledge and strength have moved this issue forward in ways that have truly changed the recognition and response to elder abuse in Maine.”
Marro accepted the award by reading a letter from her grandfather written years earlier. She lives in Brunswick with her husband and their three children.
SASSMM’s 24-hour crisis and support line is available at 1-800-822-5999. For more information about SASSMM, visit www.sassmm.org.
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