Voice of the Faithful
National Representative Council
Resolutions

Reform of laws to strengthen the protection of children from sexual abuse.

WHEREAS, Goal 1 of VOTF is "to support victims of clergy sexual abuse" and Goal 3 is "to shape structural change within the Church"; and

WHEREAS, supporting past and current victims of clergy sexual abuse naturally extends to prevention of future sexual abuse of children; and

WHEREAS, many states have laws pertaining to the protection of children from sexual abuse and governing the ability of child abuse victims to sue in civil court that are insufficiently effective in protecting children or providing justice for survivors; and

WHEREAS, in many of these states the statute of limitations for criminally prosecuting perpetrators of child sexual abuse is only a few years following the abuse, and the time limitation on a victim's ability to file a claim in civil court against the abuser and any abettors is so short that most victims are not emotionally, psychologically, or financially capable of filing a claim within the limitation period, thus many victims currently are already beyond the limitations age; and

WHEREAS, temporarily suspending, or permanently eliminating retroactively, the statute of limitations on civil claims is permitted under the US Constitution; and

WHEREAS, both the retroactive suspension or permanent elimination of civil statutes of limitations and the prospective elimination or extension to a reasonable age would allow Abuse survivors to have their day in civil court, Expose pedophiles and any who aided or abetted them, Alert parents and the general public to the abuse threat and spur them to take action to further protect their children, and Put Church officials and others on notice to strengthen their child protection efforts or face further civil action and unwanted publicity

THEREFORE IT IS RESOLVED THAT:

It is the policy of VOTF to support the reform of state and federal laws to strengthen the protection of children from sexual abuse, afford justice for survivors of child sexual abuse, and hold accountable any abuser and any individual or institution that aids or abets child sexual abuse.

To allow survivors of child sexual abuse who are already beyond the age allowed by statutes of limitations for filing a civil suit, VOTF supports legislation to either eliminate such statutes retroactively or suspend them for a period long enough to allow these survivors to have their day in court.