History of Enough Abuse
ENOUGH ABUSE® is the nation’s oldest citizen-based child advocacy organization with a history of successes for vulnerable children that spans over 6 decades. It works in states, nationally, and with international partners to ensure every child’s right to a childhood free from abuse and exploitation.
Innovative and outcome-driven, ENOUGH ABUSE® empowers individuals and policymakers to address the pressing issues facing children through training, education, and effective legislative and policy advocacy. A 18-member Board of Directors guides the organization; half of its members are survivors of childhood sexual abuse or the parents of child victims. Executive Director Jetta Bernier, a nationally recognized child abuse prevention advocate, leads Enough Abuse’s prevention programs and policy work. Kathryn Robb, Esq. directs the Children’s Justice Campaign, a national initiative working to reform Statutes of Limitation laws in child sexual abuse cases, and all types of child protection legislation.
The 65-year-old organization was founded by Dr. Martha May Eliot, an internationally renowned pediatrician who served as Chief of the U.S. Children’s Bureau (1951-1956) and held influential positions in the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). At the request of Governor Foster Furcolo, Dr. Eliot assembled a citizen contingent to represent Massachusetts at the first White House Conference on Children in 1960. Upon their return, they formed the Massachusetts Committee for Children and Youth (now known as ENOUGH ABUSE™ ) as a private, independent, non-profit organization.
Throughout its history, the hallmark of ENOUGH ABUSE® has been its willingness to tackle the tough and complex issues affecting children and youth. From its work in the 60s to outlaw the sale of black market babies and keep children out of adult psychiatric facilities, in the 70s to address teen depression and suicide, its program in the ‘80s to prevent HIV among homeless and runaway youth, to its work in the 90s to reduce child poverty and prevent infant death and disability from Shaken Baby Syndrome, and its work since 2002 to prevent child sexual abuse, ENOUGH ABUSE® has been a recognized leader and effective advocate for the children in our communities, states and nation.
Highlights Over Six Decades
- Leading the effort to pass a bill to criminalize AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in Massachusetts.
- Developed 9 interactive maps tracking child sexual abuse prevention legislation in the states, including on: AI-generated CSAM, child sexual abuse prevention education, school employee screening to prevent educator sexual misconduct and abuse, criminalization of sexual abuse by Persons in Positions of Authority, grooming, Statutes of Limitations laws, and state task forces to prevent child sexual abuse. .
- By mid-decade, educated over 13,000 employees in 195 schools in twelve states using our 1-hour online course, “Enough! Preventing Child Sexual Abuse in My School.”
- Provided free technical assistance to improve child sexual abuse prevention policies to 10 Massachusetts school districts, through our Safety S.T.A.R.S. program
- Co-Developed The S.A.F.E.T.Y. Guide, a training and prevention resource for single parents.
- By mid-decade, provided individualized referrals and support to nearly 500 survivors of child sexual abuse, parents of survivors, and advocates who reached out to us for help.
- Developed the report, Educator Sexual Misconduct: Fiscal Implications for Massachusetts Taxpayers, showing how school cases cost taxpayers millions of dollars; an argument for an investment in prevention.
- Were quoted or cited in over 100 press articles since 2020, over 35 in 2025 alone.
- Attracted in 2025, half a million unique website visitors who accessed our resources on EnoughAbuse.org.
- Published 8 blog posts on child sexual abuse prevention topics, such as: financial sextortion, how to protect kids on social media, how statutes of limitations and non-disclosure agreements harm survivors, why we should teach children proper names for private parts, and more.
- Produced “A Call to Action for Policymakers and Advocates,” the first and only resource in the country that tracks the status of child sexual abuse prevention legislation in all 50 states.
- Convened the bi-monthly online “States Policy Exchange” that provides ongoing peer support and technical assistance to advocates in over 38 states seeking to introduce and pass child sexual abuse prevention legislation in their states.
- Currently leading the effort to “Pass the Prevention Package” to encourage citizens to push for passage of bills in Massachusetts to: eliminate the Statute of Limitations in child sexual abuse cases; mandate child sexual abuse prevention education in schools and YSOs; strengthen the screening of prospective new school hires; increase penalties for persons in positions of authority who sexually abuse children; and close the Age of Consent loophole that protects child sexual abusers from accountability.
- Produced the one hour, interactive “Enough!” online training course on child sexual abuse prevention for youth organizations.
- Developed “Pledge to Prevent®,” a unique online action campaign to empower citizens across the country to get educated about child sexual abuse and to take concrete, practical actions to prevent it.
- Developed a 20-page Model Staff Code of Conduct for schools and YSOs on behaviors that should be prohibited to keep children safe; called “a breakthrough piece of work” by national experts.
- Developed an additional Model of Code of Conduct for Middle and High School Students.
- Led a Ms. Foundation-funded effort to demonstrate the replicability of the Enough Abuse Campaign in two additional states (2011-12); subsequently, the model was adopted in 8 states and 4 countries.
- Convened three “Prevention Summits” (2015-2018) that educated hundreds of national and local leaders to learn the latest strategies to prevent sexual misconduct/abuse in schools and YSOs.
- Led the Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws (CORSAL) that reformed the State’s criminal and civil Statute of Limitations laws in cases of child sexual abuse (2006-2014)
- Produced “State and Federal Efforts to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse,” a 50-page report that tracked laws on child sexual abuse prevention education in schools.
- Produced the “Enough!” online course for schools, and with researchers, conducted a randomized-controlled study in three states; robust findings published in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.
- Served on the 11-member National Independent Schools Task Force to Prevent Sexual Misconduct which issued recommendations to 1,500 independent schools.
- Produced the first “State Plan on Child Abuse Prevention” in the US, the result of a 2-year effort (2000-2001) involving over 200 policymakers and advocates. The Plan documented: “Massachusetts currently has no strategic plan to prevent sexual assaults against children or to evaluate and treat its victims.”
- Awarded a 5-year $1.2 million CDC grant to develop a comprehensive social change model aimed at building adult and community responsibility to prevent sexual abuse.
- Launched the Enough Abuse Campaign to mobilize communities, educate citizens, strengthen school and youth organization policies, and push for prevention legislation.
- Chaired the MA Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Partnership (2002-2012), a statewide, multidisciplinary, public/private coalition that coordinated and evaluated prevention efforts. This led to a legislatively-authorized state task force on child sexual abuse.
- Led “Dorchester CARES,” a $1.2 million, 5-year federally-funded demonstration on child abuse prevention and family support in a racially diverse inner-city Boston community; the initiative became the model for development of 20 family resource centers now operating across the state.
- Led the first effort in the state to address Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma in infants; produced and distributed nationally 1.3 million training curricula and teaching materials for hospitals, health care providers, family-serving professionals, and parents.
- Spearheaded the effort to establish a state child death review system that led to partnerships with the Medical Examiner’s Office, public health and law enforcement leaders, and to passage of the 1997 child death review law.
- Led the coalition that repealed Massachusetts’ religious exemption law, which had allowed parents of faith-healing sects to withhold medically necessary care for their seriously ill children
- Brought a Class Action suit against the MA Department of Social Services on behalf of physically and sexually abused children that led to a 5-year Out-of-Court Settlement Agreement, and improvements in services and systems.
- Led a 3-year CDC-funded initiative to prevent HIV among homeless and runaway youth.
- Launched the first statewide media campaign on child sexual abuse in the country. The series of three 30-second PSAs won 4th Place at the International Film Festival in New York City.
- Distributed over 5,000 sexual abuse prevention materials to parents who called 800-4-A-Child
- Collaborated with Marvel Comics to produce the first national PSA on child sexual abuse and distributed to schools the Special Edition Spider-Man comic book featuring the superhero as a survivor of child sexual abuse by a babysitter.
- Led the effort to pass the “Battered Baby Bill,” which established reporting laws for child abuse.
- Through Project Aware, documented the problem of adolescent depression and suicide.
- Through Project Assist, established links among teen sexual identity, depression and teen suicide.
- Worked successfully on laws and policies to keep children out of adult psychiatric facilities where abuse and neglect were rampant.
- Researched/documented the problem of drug-addicted newborns in hospitals throughout the state.
- Led the effort to ban the sale of black-market babies.