Minors Can’t Consent
Claudia at age 15 when the abuse started
“Parents have stopped me on the street and thanked me for inspiring conversations with their school-aged children about the fact that not all adults have their best interest at heart, and giving children vital information about how to avoid being victimized.”
- Claudia Barker
Claudia Barker created Minors Can’t Consent to offer survivors and those who love them a safe space to share their stories and form community. She aims to educate people about how sexual predation happens, how to spot it, and how to prevent it.
Claudia’s experience of outing a sexual predator, who was her former high school teacher, on the front page of The Times Picayune | New Orleans Advocate newspaper, decades after the crimes took place, was liberating. The support she received, and the community she found with other survivors, convinced her that there is value in sharing these stories, to raise awareness of how often this happens in places like schools, camps, and churches.
Substack
Claudia Barker’s Substack, “Claudia Barker Writes: Reflections from a Relentless Optimist,” offers her occasional musings on the ever-changing social and political landscape that surrounds us.
Why relentless optimism? Because being hopeful gives us the motivation we need to do the work, build community, and effect change. The many messages Claudia received when she went public with her story of abuse convinced her that our voices matter and that most of us care deeply about protecting vulnerable people from harm. Writing about it in her memoir-in-progress has been a key part of her healing journey.