NEW YORK
Faith Forward
By Rabbi Ari Hart
When victims of child sex abuse come forward to seek justice and stop abusers from harming others, unbelievably they are blocked by New York State law. New York ranks among the worst in the nation — alongside Alabama, Mississippi and Michigan — for how its courts and criminal justice system treat survivors of child sex abuse.
If you think a law doesn’t make much difference, take a moment to consider Sara:
“When I was 13 and 14 years old, I suffered repeated violent sexual assault by a man who was part of my religious community, a family friend who stayed over at our house. He told me that if I told anyone what he was doing, I would bring my family shame and they would blame me. I believed him. When he came to my bedroom at night, I would try to push him away, but he was stronger than me: I was trapped. I did not have words to describe the horror that I was enduring. By the time I healed enough to understand that it was not my fault, that I was a victim and could speak up about the abuse, it was too late. The New York State statue of limitations for sexual abuse was up. Our legal system no longer considered my story valid.
The predator who abused me is still at large, and because of the statute of limitations, I can do nothing to protect his present and future victims.”
As faith leaders, this issue is particularly painful and urgent. Rather than being a source of healing for victims of child sexual abuse, our religious institutions have too often discouraged victims from getting the legal and social help they need; faith leaders have been enablers; and horrifically, they have been perpetrators. Faith communities are beginning to acknowledge and undertake the hard, painful and sometimes disruptive work of confronting the specter of child sex abuse in our communities, develop policies for prevention, and support its victims.
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