AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times
Christopher Knaus
The passage of time will no longer be a barrier for ACT survivors of child sexual abuse to sue institutions like the Catholic church for justice.
The ACT government will introduce a bill on Tuesday to scrap time limits that prevent survivors from lodging civil claims too long after their abuse has occurred.
Such time limits have been criticised as “clearly inappropriate” for abuse victims, and fail to recognise the terrible psychological toll the crimes take.
The current statute of limitations is six years, which begins when the young person turns 18.
That limit would, for example, prevent more victims of Marist Brother John William Chute – who abused boys repeatedly at Marist College Canberra in the 1970s and 1980s – from now coming forward with a civil claim, unless they could adequately justify the delay.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.