Flathead Valley Survivor Turned Counselor Advocates for Sexual Abuse Prevention Education 

Three years ago, after a colleague confided in her about a disturbing experience involving sexual exploitation, Camille Deitz went searching for clarity on top of Peters Ridge in the Swan Mountain Range. A former school counselor, Deitz said the disclosure prompted her to reckon with her own childhood abuse. It made her think about how she navigated the mental health fallout from that trauma without fully confronting it, and it made her think about the legions of other survivors who haven’t found their voice. 

Her colleague’s decision to speak up, Deitz said, gave her the opening to do the same; she has since become an outspoken advocate for sexual abuse prevention.  

Following her reckoning, Deitz connected with social workers across the Flathead Valley to collaborate on solutions. Conversations with advocates at the Abbie Shelter, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and with medical providers led the group to begin workshopping sexual abuse prevention techniques. 

“We just met up and talked about what they see and what the community still needs and sexual abuse prevention at the younger levels,” Deitz told the Beacon. 

Deitz’s push toward this work was shaped in part by her decade in public schools, first as a teacher and then a school counselor. Former students disclosed abuse to her directly during that time, she said; those instances stuck with her long after she left the classroom, and eventually informed her sense of urgency around prevention education. 

Deitz and local advocates presented sexual abuse prevention education tools to local school counselors, but their efforts have since shifted. 

“Schools are so busy and I think one of the barriers for schools to engage in personal safety curriculum with students is the community’s willingness to embrace that as something that’s necessary and important in schools,” Deitz said. 

Deitz noticed a gap in sexual abuse prevention education in schools, which she attributes to the community’s reluctance to confront the topic directly. 

“Kids should know bodily autonomy,” Deitz said. 

Years after her revelation on Peters Ridge, Deitz on Sept. 9 hosted the Montanans Moving Mountains event at First Presbyterian Church in Kalispell, bringing together Flathead Valley nonprofits and community members to learn about sexual abuse, domestic violence and trafficking prevention. In addition to Deitz’s presentation, the event featured talks from Abbie Shelter Executive Director Kristen Schepker and Alani Bankhead, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel and federal special agent. 

Wearing sparkling silver sequined disco pants, Deitz introduced herself as a former teacher and school counselor-turned-licensed clinical professional counselor and “lived experience” activist. 

“It’s really difficult to come and talk about this and one of the things that’s prevented me from speaking about it for a good chunk of my life is that nobody wants to hear about this,” Deitz told the audience. 

Working at Operation Keiki Shield in Hawaii during her time in the military, Bankhead specialized in child sexual abuse crimes and has assisted in the arrests of hundreds of abusers. She highlighted the challenges surrounding sexual abuse advocacy because of its disturbing nature, which limits outreach and awareness. 

“This is something where I had to learn a lot of grace because it is so offensive to the soul – this crime that most people don’t have the courage to look at,” Bankhead said. 

With only 200 child sex offender experts in law enforcement nationwide, Bankhead said the high turnover rate among investigators and prosecutors adds more barriers. 

“It’s a very dark topic and when you are doing the work — I call that being a light,” Bankhead said. “You are shining a light on these really dark places.” 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in four girls and one in 13 boys experience child sexual abuse nationwide. The issue isn’t abstract locally, either: a Columbia Falls therapist was recently arrested and charged with 15 felony counts of sexual abuse of children, in addition to two felony drug charges, after thousands of illegal videos were found in his residence. 

“We see all these numbers and it’s easy to think these numbers are floating in space somewhere else — but these numbers are very much happening in our community,” Deitz said. 

Deitz points to prevention solutions like Tara’s Law, a house bill inspired by sexual abuse survivor Tara Walker Lyons of the Blackfeet Nation. The law passed during the 2017 Montana Legislature and established a curriculum for schools to teach children about bodily autonomy and safety, but it remains unfunded and unmandated. During Deitz’s own 10-year career in public schools, she was unaware the law existed. 

“The need is evident,” Deitz said. “There’s plenty of research that shows it provides results and that could make an impact.” 

While some local schools do provide sexual abuse prevention education, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction (OPI) offers curriculum on its website, Deitz believes it should be mandated. The OPI curriculum, for example, defines concepts like safe and unsafe touches and the “Three Rs of Safety”: recognize, resist and report. 

“My end goal is to have sexual abuse prevention materials in schools and have a community that wholeheartedly supports that and makes it successful,” Deitz said. 

If you are experiencing sexual abuse, visit the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

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