President Biden recently signed a bill that eliminates the federal statute of limitations for victims of child sex abuse. The “Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act” ends the federal statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse claims. The proposal was originally introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN).

The Act recognizes that the science of personal trauma is complicated and that due to trauma, childhood sexual abuse survivors may need years before they can come forward. With the new legislation, survivors can have their day in court – another step toward the healing they need.

Sexual abuse is any unwanted sexual activity that is imposed on a person without that person’s consent. Childhood sexual abuse victims frequently know their abusers personally. Abusers use threats, coercion, and physical force to exploit their victims and to keep those victims silent.

If you were a victim of childhood sexual abuse at a church, a school, a medical facility, or in any other scenario, and if you are considering action to seek compensation and justice, consult a national personal injury lawyer to learn more about your legal rights and options.

What Does the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act Entail?

The Act recognizes the need for justice for childhood sexual abuse survivors. Passage of the bill enables childhood sexual abuse survivors to bring civil sexual abuse claims that would have been denied previously because the statute of limitations had expired.

The Act eliminates the ten-year federal statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse victims to file lawsuits in civil court and to seek damages for the crimes committed against them – crimes that include sexual exploitation, human trafficking, sexual assault, and child pornography.

The Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act applies retroactively, which means that survivors of childhood sexual abuse may now file lawsuits against their abusers for sexual abuse crimes committed at any time in the past.

What Else Does the New Law Mean for Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors?

A statute of limitations establishes the maximum length of time allowed to initiate legal proceedings. Federal law previously set the deadline for childhood sexual abuse claims at the victim’s 28th birthday (or ten years from the date of the discovery of childhood sexual abuse).

If you are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, even if that abuse took place decades ago, there is now no federal statute of limitations that prevents you from seeking justice.

Having the advice and services of a national sexual abuse attorney is the best way for you to move forward, to recover compensation, and to win the justice you need.

Why is the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act So Important?

Child trafficking, sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation harm victims of all socioeconomic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. The context in which these injustices happen may affect the willingness or ability of the victim to pursue legal action quickly for these reasons:

  1. Childhood sexual abuse victims are often too young to understand what is happening or to know that they need to seek help immediately.
  2. The abuser is often a known, trusted adult, and a child may fear the possible consequences of accusing that person.
  3. Many institutions ignore, hide, or dismiss incidents of childhood sexual abuse.
  4. Abusers and institutions sometimes project shame onto a childhood sexual abuse victim, in effect abusing the child a second time.

What Are Some of the Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse?

Childhood sexual abuse can happen either as a single incident or as part of an ongoing human trafficking, domestic violence, or institutional abuse situation.

The lifelong effects of childhood sexual abuse can be extensive. As adults, many childhood sexual abuse victims struggle with substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression, and victims may also experience the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

It’s often a long time, sometimes decades, before a childhood sexual abuse victim realizes or is able to deal with what has happened, and victims do not need the additional stress of a ticking clock – a statute of limitations.

Do not continue to suffer in silence if you are a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Arrange at once to consult with a national personal injury lawyer regarding your right to compensation with a sexual abuse claim.

What Other Proposals Are Under Consideration to Help Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors?

Despite the passage of the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act, there is still substantial work that federal lawmakers can do to address the needs of childhood sexual abuse survivors. Listed here are some of the proposals now under consideration by Congress:

  1. The Put Trafficking Victims First Act: This proposal requires training for local and state governments to identify and prevent human trafficking. It also includes provisions to ensure that trafficking victims have full access to services they may need.
  2. The Fredrick Douglas Trafficking Victims Prevention and Reauthorization Act: This bill would establish additional measures to promote awareness of human trafficking. It promotes efforts to prevent human trafficking both globally and domestically.
  3. The Trafficking Survivors Housing Act: This bill directs the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to consult and to coordinate with stakeholders regarding the accessibility of services and housing for trafficking survivors or those at risk for trafficking.

What Else Should the Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse Know?

With the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act in place, if you are a childhood sexual abuse survivor, you may now file a civil lawsuit whenever you are genuinely ready and prepared to take legal action.

Taking legal action is a decision that no one should pressure a childhood sexual abuse survivor to make. The first step is a consultation with a sexual abuse lawyer who has substantial experience handling childhood sexual abuse claims across the United States.

No sum of money alone can genuinely compensate a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. Nevertheless, if you are or if you have been a victim of childhood sexual abuse – anywhere in the U.S. – you can schedule a free case evaluation now with a national sexual abuse attorney.