Bill extends time limit on sexual abuse lawsuits

Bill extends time limit on sexual abuse lawsuits

Would let alleged child victims file until age 53

By Travis Andersen, Derek J. Anderson and Jennifer Smith  | GLOBE STAFF | GLOBE CORRESPONDENTS   JUNE 20, 2014
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/19/senate-passes-bill-give-alleged-sex-abuse-victims-more-time-file-lawsuits/m91An2iTb0EZSPdsioS4eI/story.html 

The Massachusetts Legislature is on the verge of finalizing a bill that will give alleged child sexual abuse victims an additional 32 years to file civil lawsuits, a move one specialist said will open the door to thousands of new cases.

The bill would extend the statute of limitations for filing suits against alleged perpetrators and, in future cases, the people or institution supervising them. Under the legislation, the victims would be able to file suits up to age 53, instead of the current limit of age 21.

The Senate passed the measure Thursday, after it was approved by the House Wednesday.

Lawmakers expect to send a bill to Governor Deval Patrick’s desk soon, after a few more procedural votes, said Senator William N. Brownsberger, the Senate cochairman of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary.

“We’re very glad we were able to get this done,” said Brownsberger. “It is going to protect children in the future. It really is.”

Carmen L. Durso, a lawyer for sexual abuse victims and a vocal supporter of the bill, also hailed its passage. “It will open the doors of the courthouse to thousands, literally thousands of people who have otherwise been excluded from being able to file suits,” Durso said by phone. “This will give them the opportunity to name their perpetrators and do what almost all of them want to do, which is make sure their perpetrators can’t get to other victims.”

Rosanne Sliney, 50, of Burlington, whose suit against her uncle was dismissed on statute-of-limitations grounds, said the legislation gives her hope she may get justice.

“My lawyer can contact the judge, say that these are new laws, we need to move forward to trial,” she said. “It will definitely give me a chance at justice and a fair fight against someone who destroyed me in my life.”

The landmark bill contains some important distinctions. In cases involving past abuse, for example, the provision extending the statute of limitations from age 21 to 53 would allow alleged victims to sue only the perpetrators, but not the alleged abuser’s supervisors and the institution that they worked or volunteered for.

The institutions would, however, be subject to the new rule and could be sued in cases of abuse that occur after the law passes. Institutions potentially exposed to lawsuits include churches, schools, youth centers, and other organizations.

In cases of repressed memory, the bill would give adults seven years to file claims against alleged perpetrators and their supervisors once they realize they were abused as children, an increase from the current three-year threshold.

David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, called the bill a “very big step forward” but expressed disappointment with the provision that shields institutions from some retroactive claims.

Clohessy said his group is “saddened but not surprised that Catholic officials lobbied so hard to continue evading responsibility for child-molesting clerics.”

The Catholic Church, in particular, has been rocked by a sexual abuse crisis that exploded in Boston in 2002 and has led to dioceses in Massachusetts and elsewhere paying hundreds of millions of dollars in civil claims, straining budgets and forcing school and parish closings.

Asked to comment on the legislation, a spokesman for the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston released a statement from the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s four Catholic bishops, that said the group supports the legislation.

“We, the bishops of the four dioceses of Massachusetts, recognize the suffering of survivors who have experienced sexual abuse and remain committed to assuring the safety of children entrusted to our care,” the statement said.

“For well over a decade, we have been utilizing comprehensive pastoral outreach programs for survivors and their families, have been vigilant in reporting claims, have worked closely with law enforcement, and continue to be dedicated to resolving cases in a just and responsible manner.”

The Catholic Conference added that the church has taken a number of steps to address the crisis, including background screening for tens of thousands of employees and volunteers, as well as the immediate removal of any cleric or other person credibly accused of abuse.

Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney for sexual abuse victims who is best known for filing a number of lawsuits against the Catholic Church, could not be reached for comment Thursday night.

BishopAccountability.org, an advocacy group for victims, echoed the sentiments of other advocates who wanted a stronger bill, even while praising the version that was passed.

In a statement, the group said: “The bill is far from perfect. It keeps the courthouse doors slammed shut to most of the thousands of child sexual abuse victims now age 53 or older. And it will do almost nothing to expose and hold accountable those supervisors and employers who already have been negligent, careless, or deceptive in managing offenders.”

But Durso, the lawyer for abuse victims, said that a compromise was better than nothing.

“The perfect bill would be no statute of limitations at all,” he said. “And sometimes you can’t let the perfect get in the way of the good and the useful.”

Jetta Bernier, executive director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children, a group that pushed for the changes, agreed with Durso’s assessment.

“We are fully aware that this is not the perfect bill, but we could not let the status quo continue,” she said.

Senate and House leaders released statements of support for the measure.

“The changes in this bill are essential for protecting the victims of sexual abuse and holding the perpetrators accountable for their actions,” Senate President Therese Murray said.

“I’m proud to join my colleagues in passing this bill that protects victims of sexual violence and better holds institutions accountable,” House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said.

Patrick’s office declined to comment.

Material from the State House News Service was used in this report. Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen @globe.com.

Statute of Limitations Bill Passes Unanimously in House and Senate

Statute of Limitations Bill Passes Unanimously in House and Senate
Advocates and Church Leaders Arrive at Compromise

June 19, 2012, BOSTON, MA – Behind-the-scenes diplomacy over the past several months among legislators, legal experts, child advocates and Church officials has resulted in a bill that will finally provide civil relief for victims of child sexual abuse who were previously time-barred by law from filing charges against their alleged abusers. The bill moved quickly through the Judiciary Committee, championed by Senator William Brownsberger, recently appointed Senate Co-Chair of the Committee. House sponsor Representative John Lawn shepherded it through to the House where it was passed unanimously on Thursday. Late today, the Senate also confirmed its unanimous support. The bill, which includes an emergency provision, will go into immediate effect upon Governor Patrick’s signing and he is expected to do so.

Any child 18 or younger who is abused after the law goes into effect will now have up to the age of 53 to file civil charges against their alleged abuser and/or against a supervisor and/or the employer of that supervisor.  Previously a victim only had up to 3 years past their 18th birthday to file civil charges or until 3 years after they came to understand the harm caused by the abuse. Under the new law, that limited “discovery period” is extended to 7 years. Also, the previous requirement that a survivor give a two-year notice of intent to file charges under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act has been eliminated, but only for claims of sexual abuse.

A significant feature of the proposed new law is its retroactivity for survivors. This means that anyone who was sexually abused in the past and who was time-barred under the old law from filing civil charges against their alleged abuser will now have until the age of 53 to do so.

The new law, however, would not be retroactive for institutions and their supervisors.  This means that survivors who believe their past abuse was due to the actions or inactions of an organization and/or a supervisor of that organization, may not file civil charges if they were time-barred under the old law.  Only abuse by institutions and supervisors that occurs after the new law goes into effect would be subject to the age 53 provision.

“We are fully aware of the bill’s limitations regarding survivors age 53 or older, as well as the inability of some to file civil charges against institutions which may have been complicit in allowing child sexual abuse to occur under their watch,”, said Jetta Bernier, director of MassKids, a child advocacy organization that has been involved in the SOL reform fight for several years.  “Negotiators were faced with an all-or-nothing choice and so chose to do what was currently possible for the greatest numbers of survivors.  We simply could no longer accept the status quo and the protections it provided abusers while disregarding the rights of survivors and potential future child victims,” she said.  The group says it is committed to fight for additional reforms and prevention policies in the next legislative session.

Rosanne Sliney, a survivor of child sexual abuse, who was time-barred under the old law from suing the uncle who abused her from age 5 to 14, expressed the sentiment of many abuse victims.  “With this long overdue move, we have finally succeeded in wresting power away from abusers who were largely protected under the old law. Victims now have the power they need to seek justice in the courts, to heal, and to shield more children from sexual abuse.”

Marci Hamilton, constitutional law scholar and the nation’s foremost legal expert on Statute of Limitations stated: "This law is a good development for Massachusetts survivors.  The retroactive age extension to age 53 is innovative and worthy of other states' attention.”  However, she raised concerns that the law would still shield the four Massachusetts Dioceses of Boston, Fall River, Springfield and Worcester from potential new suits brought against them by some victims of clergy sexual abuse. “The failure to include institutions under the retroactive provision shows that Catholic bishops' continue to exert their power in an effort to avoid justice.  Still, the retroactive extension of the discovery rule to 7 years beyond discovery for all defendants is an improvement over existing law."

Bills to reform civil and criminal SOLs were introduced in numerous states in 2014, including California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. MassKids and other advocates succeeded in 2009 in extending the state’s criminal SOL.  Before then a victim had only up to 15 years past their 16th birthday or by age 31 to file criminal charges against their abuser. Now they have until age 43.

###

How do the new and old SOL laws compare?

NEW LAW: Statute of Limitations for child sexual abuse - age 53
For abuse occurring from this date on, a victim can bring suit against their abuser and the supervisor or employer of the abuser, any time before their 53rd birthday.

For abuse that occurred prior to passage of the new law, a victim who was barred under the old law can now bring suit against their abuser, any time before their 53rd birthday. They are still restricted from bringing suit against the supervisor or employer of the abuser.

OLD LAW: Statute of Limitations for child sexual abuse - age 18
A victim of child sexual abuse upon reaching the age of 18 could file suit against their abuser and supervisor or employer of the abuser.

* * *

NEW LAW: Discovery Rule - 7 years
A victim of child sexual abuse now has 7 years after they reach their 18th birthday, or 7 years from the time they discover or reasonably should have discovered the harm caused by the abuse, to file a complaint.

There is NO age limit to the 7 year discovery rule, e.g. a victim abused at age 15 who does not discover the harm done until they are significantly older may still file a complaint if it is filed within 7 years after they discover the harm done or before their 53rd birthday, whichever is LATER.

The 7 Year Discovery Rule is also retroactive for supervisors and employers, e.g. a victim of child sexual abuse who is 40 years old and discovers at that time the harm done by the abuse would have until age 47 to file a complaint against the abuser’s supervisor or employer. The victim would have until age 53 to sue their abuser as the time limit is the later of the two ages that is, age 53 or 47 years – 7 years from discovery.)

OLD LAW: Discovery Rule - 3 years
A victim of child sexual abuse had 3 years after their 18th birthday, or 3 years from the time they discovered or should have discovered the harm caused by the abuse, to file a complaint. There was no retroactive provision for this Discovery Rule.

* * *

NEW LAW: MA Tort Claims for child sexual abuse claims only
A written notice of intent to file a complaint against an abuser, supervisor or employer is no longer required.

OLD LAW: MA Tort Claims- 2 year notice & 3 Year SOL
There was a required 2-year written notice of intent to file a complaint for suits brought against towns, cities, governments, municipalities and a 3-year SOL.

Ending the sex abuse epidemic: Schools are keeping their students at risk of abuse

BY LESLIE CROCKER SNYDER  NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, May 5, 2014, 4:30 AM
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ending-sex-abuse-epidemic-article-1.1777735 

Every week, we learn of new charges of sexual abuse and rape at schools that have allegedly mishandled or hidden complaints by victims. Last week it was Columbia University; the week before, it was Florida State.

It has been three years since the Penn State-Jerry Sandusky horror, and little has been accomplished. Almost as disturbing as the abuse itself are the revelations of institutional bungling of investigations, and sometimes, failure to investigate at all.

Sadly, sexual abuse extends far beyond the church, the military, sports and our universities. It is widespread in our secondary schools, where it is estimated that one in five children has been abused by a school educator or employee between kindergarten and 12th grade.

By now, almost everyone has heard about the decades of sexual abuse at the Horace Mann school. Less well known is the fact that the school repeatedly failed to respond to dozens of abuse complaints.

For the past few months, I have been conducting an investigation into what happened at Horace Mann at the behest of an alumni group. The goal of our investigation is to explain the culture that allowed these terrible acts to occur repeatedly over 30 years.

As part of the investigation, we commissioned a study of how 20 other independent schools throughout the country have dealt with similar revelations in the recent past.

We found a disturbing pattern: Most complaints were quashed or ignored; victims were mislead and told they needed documentary proof of the abuse; victims were told it might hurt their college admission chances if they persisted in reporting complaints; schools failed to report abuse to law enforcement; they protected the abuser, put the interests of the school ahead of the victim. Most schools admitted the abuse only when forced to by exposure by the media.

The victims in all of these cases were young, impressionable and often unable to recover from the deep and lasting trauma of being abused by people who were their heroes and role models, beloved teachers or coaches. Many believed they were the accuser’s only victim and never reported it to anyone. This sense of isolation further traumatized them.

While every state has laws mandating that public schools report abuse by parents or guardians, these laws generally do not apply to abuse by school educators or employees. And even these inadequate laws do not apply to private schools. How can we ensure justice for young victims who may never recover from the trauma inflicted? We must make certain that private schools — and all other educational institutions — institute a series of reforms.

Hiring must include criminal background checks and reference checks; a detailed description of prohibited behavior, as well as the consequences of violations. And workplaces must provide annual training sessions for teachers and staff in recognizing, reporting and preventing sexual abuse.

Every school must put into place a mandatory system of reporting complaints of abuse to an independent council of well-credentialed persons, most of whom should be unconnected to the school.

Under the Clery Act, American colleges and universities that receive federal funds are required to make all incidents of crime and sexual abuse public. Private schools should be required to do the same. Parents should know whether their children’s school is safe before they enroll, not after sexual abuse is reported in the media.

It is also critical that all credible instances of abuse be disclosed to any potential employer to keep an abuser from being hired by an unsuspecting school or youth organization. We must prevent situations analogous to the deliberate re-shuffling of abusing priests in the Catholic church, by creating a registry of abusers available to any school or organization involved with children. This re-shuffling happened with several teachers at Horace Mann and has happened at many other schools.

And we must also finally fix overly restrictive statutes of limitations, which prevent many child victims from reporting crimes against them.

More broadly, we must find new ways to change the attitude of schools from self-protection to protection of the victims of these traumatic crimes. Penn State eventually cooperated. Horace Mann refused to cooperate and refused to conduct its own investigation.

In the past, the response of too many of our institutions to the epidemic of sexual abuse has been limited, inadequate and at times pathetic. Enough lip service. It is time for action.

Snyder has worked in the criminal justice system for over 35 years, both as a prosecutor and as a judge. She founded and led the Manhattan Sex Crimes Prosecution Bureau and co-authored New York’s Rape Shield Law.

Upcoming Child Abuse Prevention Training in Santa Rosa California!

Understanding and Responding to the Sexual Behaviors of Children

Who:  Parents, Caregivers and professionals working with children.

When:  Monday March 24^th

Registration begins at 6:15pm. Event Time is 6:30-8pm.

Where: California Parenting Institute, 3642 Standish Rd, Santa Rosa, CA . Conference room # 128.

Why: To raise community awareness about child abuse prevention.

To Register: Call Kate Robey, MFT at 585-6108 x1229 for more info or email:  kater@calparents.org     

“Understanding & Responding to the Sexual Behaviors of Children” is an interactive workshop designed for parents, early education and care professionals and others who have contact with children and/or their families.

Attendees will increase their knowledge & skills to:

• Identify “developmentally expected” sexual behaviors of children and youth; 
• Distinguish developmentally expected behaviors from those that might be inappropriate, coercive, abusive or illegal; 
• Respond to all sexual behaviors in ways that promote healthy development of children and that support bystanders who maybe affected.  

Several scenarios are presented describing sexual behaviors of children that participants might witness in their homes, in day care settings, schools and other youth-serving organizations. Small group discussions give participants an opportunity to apply their new knowledge about how to assess and respond to these behaviors in ways that model good communication, empathy and accountability. These responses can help build protective factors in children so that their risks to be victimized or to perpetrate sexual abuse can be reduced.

The Enough Abuse Campaign is a comprehensive state and community mobilization initiative working to build a movement of concerned citizens educated about child sexual abuse and engaged in direct actions to prevent it. The Campaign’s mission is to prevent adults from sexually abusing children today, and to promote the healthy development of children and youth so as to reduce sexually abusive behaviors from occurring in the future.

This presentation is based on concepts developed by Gail Ryan of the Kempe Children’s Center in Colorado.

Helping Parents Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

Helping Parents Prevent Child Sexual Abuse

Jetta Bernier's Guest Post to "Safe To Compete", a program of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
http://tmblr.co/Zf7J_qu3U8w5

Efforts to prevent child sexual abuse over the past decade are showing results and confirmed cases are down. Yet still too many children - an estimated 1 in 10 - are at risk of being sexually abused or exploited. As a parent, you can be your child’s best protection. Here’s how.

What’s a Parent to Do?

1. Begin talking to your child about body boundaries and privacy by age 3. Remember, it’s easy, if you begin early and reinforce messages over time.
2. Only allow those you trust to provide genital, perianal and bathing care for your child.
3. Encourage children’s independence in personal self-care.
4. Discourage co-bathing with siblings and adults.
5. Introduce concepts of “OK” and “Not OK” touch. Avoid using the terms “good or bad touch.”  Children get confused by the notions that a good person could touch then in a bad way; that touching in private parts can feel good yet be bad; and that being touched in a bad way might mean they are bad.  
6. Increase supervision. By reducing “one child/one adult” situations, you can reduce your child’s risk of abuse by an estimated 8o%.
7. Teach children and teens to respect adults’ and siblings’ privacy by modeling this behavior yourself.
8. Teach teens to practice equality and respect in their relationships and to demand the same.
9. Develop a safety plan with your teen in case he/she needs to get out of risky situations.
10. Encourage your teen to stay sober to reduce the risks of sexual abuse.

---


Jetta Bernier is Executive Director of Massachusetts Citizens for Children. She directs the Enough Abuse Campaign, a community mobilization and citizen education effort established in 2002 under a 5-year grant from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and supported in part by the Ms. Foundation for Women. The Campaign’s comprehensive model has now been adopted in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and regions of California. For more information about how to prevent child sexual abuse, visit www.enoughabuse.or

Your Action on SOL Needed Today!

News from the Coalition to Reform Sex Abuse Laws:

Your Action on SOL Needed Today!

In a strategic effort to move civil SOL reform forward, Senator Brownsberger yesterday personally reached out to his Senate colleagues to urge them to add their names to a letter that he and Rep. Lawn have drafted. The letter urges Senate President Murray and House Speaker DeLeo to shepherd SOL bills  S. 63 and H.1455 out of Committee and on to the Senate and House floors for a vote.   Within hours, 30 of 40 Senators had already signed the letter.  Rep. Lawn is reaching out to his House colleagues and expects strong support as well.

Your voice needs to be heard today.  Call your legislators and urge them to add their names to the letter.  If they have already done so, thank them and encourage them to ask their colleagues to do the same.  (Because Sen. Brownsberger and Rep. Lawn are reaching out personally to their colleagues, legislative aides may not yet be aware of this effort.  You should know this, in case aides tell you they have not seen such a letter.)  The letter will be sent to Speaker DeLeo and Senate President Murray on July 31 just before the August recess. It may be publicly released to the media at that time. Make sure your legislators’ names are on it.

Tell them that survivors and advocates intend to take the issue of SOL reform to the mat.  We expect them to take it to the Floor and vote to abolish or retroactively extend the civil SOL.   Survivors deserve justice and our children deserve action now.  Thanks and check CORSAL's website or Facebook page for regular updates!

A Child Advocate's Blog: Sex-Wise Parents can raise sexually safer and heal...

Sex-Wise Parents can raise sexually safer and healthier kids!

Reposted from the Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM,) Blog, original post found here: Sex-Wise Parents can raise sexually safer and healthier kids! | National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC)

This week the Talk Early, Talk Often series continues on the SAAM Blog with a guest post from author and expert Dr. Janet Rosenzweig. Join us on Tueday, April 2 for a twitter chat hosted by @JanetRosenzweig on child sexual abuse prevention. Use the hashtag #TweetAboutIt to participate. 

Parents are the strongest influence on their children's decisions about sex and sexuality, yet most parents underestimate their own power. A major national survey reported in 2010 that 46 percent of teens continue to say that parents most influence their decisions about sex, while just 20 percent say friends most influence their decisions. At the same time, parents overestimate the influence media and friends have on their children's decisions about sex and underestimate their own.

The same study tells us that 88 percent of parents agree with the statement that "parents believe they should talk to their kids about sex but often don’t know what to say, how to say it, or when to start." (Albert 2010)

It's easy to see why: They were raised in the era I've dubbed "The Neutered Nineties". That's when we traded rational discussion about sexuality for Megan's Laws and sex offender registries, in the name of 'prevention.' It's when cash-strapped school districts had to teach abstinence-only topics or lose federal funding. And when answering a question about masturbation at an AIDS conference got the U.S. surgeon general fired. Too many adults stopped talking to kids about sex. Qualified professionals went quiet and left a vacuum too easily filled by people who sexually offend.

Accurate and age-appropriate information about sex disappeared from most professional work in child sexual abuse, and it's time to put it back.

Where to start? With two critical messages for our children:

They need to know accurate names for all their body parts; and

They need to understand that physical sexual arousal is an autonomic response -- like getting goosebumps when tickled.

One now-grown female victim of child sexual abuse I interviewed for The Sex-Wise Parent told me that good touch-bad touch programs can actually be dangerous to a victim because sometimes the touch actually feels good! Further, men who were victims of sexual abuse report that the confusion resulting from a climax is one of the most difficult issues to resolve.

People who sexually offend exploit children's guilt and their lack of knowledge related to sexuality often try to convince them  that they must have actually enjoyed the abuse because of a physical response over which they have no control. Understanding sexual response is important for boys and girls -- people who prey on teen-aged girls exploit the fact that very few girls understand that their physical response to a sexual thought, feeling or touch has absolutely nothing to do with love.

Language and knowledge that parents equip children with are a defense against abuse. Raising a child who knows the parts of his or her body, and knows that it's safe to tell parents or a trusted adult if they have been touched, can prevent their victimization and probably other children's, too. And, if abuse occurs, harm may be mitigated if the child understands their body's response.

For parents who need support as they heed the advice to 'talk early-talk often,' I suggest practicing with friends and getting used to using sexual terms without discomfort. Take turns role-playing, asking each other the kinds of questions you fear getting from your children. Watch this video for ideas and encouragement. This may not be easy at first, but the reward can be lifelong -- a sexually safe and healthy child!

Find more ideas at my website and feel free to E-mail me your questions!

Dr. Janet Rosenzweig worked for the first sexual abuse helpline in the U.S., in Knox County, Tennessee; that project developed into a 5-county treatment program and a national multi-disciplinary training center. She has also managed child sexual abuse programs in Texas and New Jersey, and is the author of The Sex-Wise Parent: The Parent's Guide Protecting Your Child, Strengthening Your Family, and Talking to Kids about Sex, Abuse, and Bullying, (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012). She is currently the national consultant for child sexual abuse prevention programs for Prevent Child Abuse - America, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania and a speaker offering keynotes and training nationally.