Editorial: Young victims of abuse need chance to fight back

Times Herald-Record
June 14, 2017

http://www.recordonline.com/opinion/20170614/editorial-young-victims-of-abuse-need-chance-to-fight-back

As the end of the regular legislative session in Albany nears, John Flanagan, leader of the Republican majority in the state Senate, continues to refuse to allow to allow a vote on the Child Victims Act. This is the measure that would, as the sponsors explain, recognize the “unique character of sex crimes against children, which can have a multitude of effects upon victims, including being justifiably delayed in otherwise timely taking action against their abusers and/or those who facilitated in their abuse.”

The bill would acknowledge in New York the universally acknowledged dilemma that child victims often take years to understand what happened to them and even more time to get the courage to speak about it and press charges. By extending the statute of limitations for such crimes in the future, the bill would bring New York into line with other states which have adopted this humane and civilized approach.

Recognizing that this change would not help victims of previous abuse, it also would open a one-year window in which those making allegations could get a chance to have their day in court.

The Assembly approved the bill by an overwhelming margin, 139 to 7, the kind of result that is unprecedented in all but the most noncontroversial issues.

Yet Flanagan stalls and seems to be hoping that he can continue to keep the vote from coming to the Senate floor, effectively condemning the victims of child sexual abuse to another year of waiting.

Flanagan does not do something this controversial on his own. No leader does. His stonewalling provides protection to the rest of the Senate, to those who would rather avoid a vote on this matter than to have to go on record and then face the reactions of supporters.

Those in the region who feel that this is something that the state should do need to get in touch with their senators and let them know that the measure and those it helps deserve a vote, that playing politics is not acceptable.

If they want help composing their pleas, they can adopt the stand being taken by a group using social media to expose what Flanagan is doing and to make the case for the legislation.

One victim of abuse as a child, Ana Wagner, who is featured in the video, put it this way: “Survivors are banding together to protect the next generation and to stand up for their rights. We have over 70,000 signatures on a petition in support of this bill. Sen. Flanagan needs to ask himself how hard he’s going to fight against children?”

Our senators need to consider that and answer the question as well.

Actually, there are two questions for our senators — how do they stand on this bill and what did they do to get it to the floor?

It’s not as if the Senate avoids controversial issues. Just last week senators passed a bill to create new criminal penalties for “revenge porn,” the dissemination of sexually explicit photos of a person without their permission.

If those victims deserve protection, certainly the victims of sexual abuse as children do as well.