JAPAN
The Japan News
January 13, 2015
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A woman who was sexually abused as a child has started a petition calling for legal revisions that would toll, or pause, the statute of limitations in similar cases, allowing victims more time before they take legal action against their abusers.
The woman, now in her 40s, has continued to suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome due to the abuse she suffered as a child. Many victims of child abuse do not speak out for many years because they have nobody to talk to about their ordeals, or because they do not fully understand what they went through.
“When I told my parents I was abused, they told me, ‘So long as you stay silent, it’ll all be swept under the carpet,’” the woman said. “I’m sure many victims who finally feel they could speak up eventually let the matter drop because of the statute of limitations.”
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