Survivor Story: Val Meola
“My name is Val. I am a survivor of child sexual abuse and incest. It took me almost 50 years to come to terms with what had happened to me. My abuse happened over a period of 12 years and went unnoticed all that time. I learned to mask my feelings of shame and guilt by portraying myself as a happy little girl. Stuffing my feelings continued for most of my adult life.
Now, 60 years later, I am an advocate for children and survivors. As president of RAACE, my goal is to turn around the numbers of one and three girls and one and seven boys. We all need work together to end this silent pandemic by speaking out and educating the general public on the gravity of this.“
As a CSA prevention advocate, Val is current President of Race Against Abuse of Children Everywhere (RAACE). As a speaker, she hopes that her voice resonates with other survivors, teaches all who care for children and warn the monsters that they can no longer hide.
Val Meola is the author of The Monster’s Game, written under a pseudonym, littlegirl413. She is also contributor to the anthologies, Letter to a Monster by Caroline de Chavigny and Purple Sparks by Stephanie Y. Evans and Sharnell D. Myles. She was featured in multiple issues of Memoirabilia magazine in 2014.
Val’s most recent contribution is as co-author of the Amazon best seller, Stop the Silence, Thriving After Child Sexual Abuse by Dr Pamela J. Pine and 23 survivors of CSA.