Shy Keenan (also known as Karen Wootton and Karen Claridge) is a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
author,
child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...
survivor, and founder of Phoenix Survivors, an advocacy group for victims of sexual abuse.
Keenan is known for her biography ''Broken'', in which she discusses the long-term and extreme sexual abuse she experienced from her stepfather, Stanley Claridge.
In 2014 the book was temporarily withdrawn from distribution by its publisher
. For her work with sexual abuse victims, Keenan received a ''Women Of The Year'' award in 2008.
In 2013 Keenan's fourteen-year-old son Ayden Olson was discovered dead within his home, having committed suicide. Keenan has maintained that her son was "
bullied to death" and has started a campaign called "Ayden's Law" that requests that the
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
create a new anti-bullying law.
Sexual abuse
Keenan states that Claridge began sexually abusing and raping her when she was three or four years old and continued the abuse until she was fourteen.
Claridge also ran a prostitution ring, selling Keenan and other girls to various paedophiles.
One encounter at age 10 left her with a fractured skull and Claridge kept Keenan and others from escaping by telling them that he had murdered various people and buried them under the house.
Keenan later escaped Claridge and lived on the streets, and at one point attempted suicide.
Keenan later participated in an investigation into Claridge with journalist Sarah Macdonald. Macdonald stated that Keenan had "sent an explicit and disgusting tape recording of her father talking about abusing children to the police and social services - they did nothing."
For the investigation Keenan was sent into Claridge's house in an attempt to get him to talk about the sexual abuse.
The investigation was successful and Claridge and two other men were sent to jail for sexual abuse charges.
Keenan later asked for a public inquiry into Wirral Social Services for "failing to protect her".
Bibliography
*''Broken'' (2008)
*''Children Betrayed'' (2010)
*''The Stolen Ones'' (2011)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keenan, Shy
Living people
British writers
British women writers
British activists
British women activists
Year of birth missing (living people)