Child Protection Symposium Will Address Sexual Abuse in the Church and Other Institutions

William Mitchell College of Law
February 7, 2015

http://web.wmitchell.edu/news/2015/02/child-protection-symposium-will-address-sexual-abuse-in-the-church-and-other-institutions/

The Child Protection Program, in partnership with Jeff Anderson ’75, will present an all-day symposium that will examine the complicated history and current situation surrounding sexual abuse in the church and other institutions. The symposium will be held on Friday, Apr. 17, in the William Mitchell Auditorium.

“Looking Back and Moving Forward: A Critical Look at Sexual Abuse and Institutional Failure,” will feature Jeff Dion, director of The National Crime Victim Bar Association as the keynote speaker. He will be joined by the Very Rev. Charles Lachowitzer, Minnesota vicar general, and a remarkable group of local and national experts who will share messages of hope, help, and healing as they discuss policies and strategies to help institutions and survivors move forward after abuse has occurred.

Dion, who has worked for the National Center for Victims of Crime since 1998, lectures across the U.S. to foster greater understanding among crime victims and trial attorneys. He has trained advocates and attorneys in 37 states and serves on the board of directors for the Sexual Assault Victim Advocacy Service of Prince William County. He is an advisory council member for the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children and is the recipient of the Ronald Wilson Reagan Public Policy Award, an award honoring an individual whose leadership has led to significant changes in public policy and practice to benefit crime victims.

The symposium is made possible, in part, by the generosity of Jeff Anderson, trial attorney at Jeff Anderson & Associates. A dedicated sexual abuse litigator, Anderson has represented thousands of victims and their families, trying more than 250 jury trials to verdict across the country. He was also instrumental in exposing the large scale cover-up of sexual abuse by priests in the 1980s. He frequently lectures on litigation techniques and publishes on the topic of sexual misconduct in the clergy.