HARRISBURG (PA)
PennLive.com
March 4, 2023
By AJ Ortiz
Opponents of statute of limitations (SOL) reform in Pennsylvania continue to peddle disinformation regarding the potential impact to taxpayers. CHILD USA’s analysis of SOL reform data in other states shows that estimates of impact to taxpayers and public schools are at least 10 times too high. Simply put, the journalists, professors, and policymakers who continue to spread inaccurate claims about this issue are directly harming survivors of child sexual abuse.
Survivors of child sexual abuse need financial compensation. The trauma they endure leads to lower earnings and medical bills for therapy and other treatment throughout their lives. And the vast majority of Pennsylvania’s residents support giving survivors a window to seek justice. So, why are some politicians and academics still recycling falsehoods to shut the effort down?
Either this is a case of laziness and data illiteracy, or it’s intentional misdirection. If this whole campaign is actually about protecting powerful interests like the Catholic Church, then let’s have that debate, and let’s base it on facts, not scare tactics and distraction.
Citizens and survivors of child sexual abuse in Pennsylvania deserve better than smoke and mirrors.
AJ Ortiz, Social Science Director of CHILD USA. He resides in Philadelphia.