Nsw May Extend Time Limit on Child Sex Abuse Claims
The Guardian
The NSW government is considering lifting the time limit in which survivors of child sexual abuse can sue for damages. The NSW attorney general Brad Hazzard said the royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse had uncovered widespread claims about abuse and the legal barriers survivors face in pursuing justice many years after the crime. “It is well documented that many survivors of child sexual abuse do not disclose their experiences or act on them until decades after the abuse, well after the time period has ended,” Hazzard said on Friday. The government has released a discussion paper on whether to amend the Limitation Act 1969 and wants to hear from the public. Under the NSW Statute of Limitations people abused as children generally have between three and 12 years from the time of the offence to launch a civil claim. “People who have suffered at the hands of others sometimes take 20, 30 years just to build up the courage to be able to say anything ... it’s a bit strange that there’s a limitation in the law that says you can’t bring proceedings,” Hazzard told ABC radio on Friday. The minister for family and community services, Gabrielle Upton, said the discussion paper was about giving victims the compassion, recognition and practical support they deserved. The president of Adults Surviving Child Abuse, Cathy Kezelman, welcomed the discussion paper. “Child abuse victims face multiple barriers to pursuing a civil litigation process. It is high time that an understanding of trauma and its impacts inform the justice process,” she said. The public have until 10 March to provide feedback and can do so on the government’s Have Your Say website.
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