CALIFORNIA
Digital Journal
A bill currently pending before the California Legislature would open up one-year window for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse to bring lawsuits.
September 05, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ — Childhood sexual abuse is one of the worst things a human being can be forced to endure. In addition to the immediate physical trauma, child sex abuse often inflicts emotional damage that can last well into adulthood. In too many cases, victims never fully recover from the horrors to which they have been subjected.
In California, victims of child sexual abuse have the right to sue their abusers and, in some cases, the institutions that enabled the abuse. However, many children are so frightened by the prospect of confronting their abusers that they do not tell anyone about the abuse until many years after it occurred. Others may repress memories of the abuse, only to have them reappear later in life. Unfortunately, this delayed reporting can sometimes prevent victims from being able to take legal action.
Under current California law, sexual abuse victims who are adults over the age of 26 are often barred from bringing suit over childhood sexual abuse.
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