My name is Anita Wladichuk. I was born in the gold mining town of Kirkland Lake, Ontario. I am the second youngest of seven children. The most excitement living in Kirkland Lake was getting my picture on the local newspaper's front page for getting lost in the woods all day until dusk when I was around three years old. When I was about five years old, I was struck down by a car. Naturally, I survived these two incidents and carried on with my life's adventures. Little did I know that my future life was going to continue to be about survival.
I am a survivor of the three A's: Abandonment, Abduction, and Abuse. I don't recall when my father left me and my family, but because of this, I was abducted twice by Social Services and placed in two foster homes. When I was about six years old, my father had visitation rights but he kidnapped me from the foster home I was living in and moved me to the mining town of Uranium City in northern Saskatchewan.
In Uranium City, I enjoyed running around the hillsides, picking wild berries, swimming in the lake, and going fishing and hunting. Unfortunately, I also experienced verbal, physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse.
When I was 13 years old, I visited with my mother and she used this opportunity to kidnap me and moved me to Brampton, Ontario to live with her, my older brother, and younger sister. Living in small secluded towns was vastly different compared to cities such as Brampton, Ontario. Here, I experienced and survived verbal, physical, mental, and emotional abuse living with my mom. I decided to set a goal to complete high school and then continue to go on to university. I achieved my desired goals with a double major in Administrative Studies and Psychology. Later I decided to settle down, get married, and have children. I have two wonderful, independent sons. Later I returned to university and I also earned my Bachelor of Education degree.
I currently live in Vancouver, BC. I'm available to talk to your group about awareness and prevention of child abuse at ghostlyowl@hotmail.com.
