www.OregonLive.com
by Paul Mones, guest opinion
Tuesday June 02, 2009, 8:30 AM
Our state legislators are in the midst of dealing with one of the
worst fiscal crises in recent memory. No doubt they will have to make
many tough, unpopular decisions this year. However there is one
legislative decision they need not fret over because it is a
no-brainer. House Bill 2827 is a simple piece of legislation that gives
an extra measure of justice to victims of child abuse.
In the words of one of the bill’s co-sponsors Chris Garrett (D-Lake
Oswego ) - the other sponsor is Rep. Andy Olson (R-Albany) - this bill
"will ensure an effective civil remedy for victims of child abuse."
The bill extends the present statute of limitations by giving
victims until the age of 40 to file an action against their abuser,
requiring that claims be initiated by the time the victim turns 40
years old or within five years of when the injury or the connection
between the abuse and the injury is discovered. The bill has
unanimously passed the house but curiously has not received the same
overwhelmingly positive reception in the Senate.
The extension of the statute of limitations makes common sense
because it recognizes that most child victims of sexual abuse cannot
confront their debilitating problems until they are mature adults.
Moreover, most victims can’t even make the connection between the abuse
and their psychological problems until they have some real distance
from the time period of their abuse.
Child abuse is the perfect crime because its victims are too
powerless, too confused to help themselves when they are actually being
abused. These children travel quietly through their days interacting
with teachers and passing police officers, friends and neighbors, never
revealing the anguish of their existences. And if by chance someone
asks them how they are being treated at home their responses will be
uniformly the same: OK.
As adults we expect all human beings to escape or at least want to
escape when someone injures them, but for victims of abuse, the reverse
occurs. And that is in fact perhaps one of the most insidious aspects
of child abuse: It binds the child closer to the abuser. The abuser’s
threats and intimidation engender in the child not only fear but
self-blame and embarrassment - all of which turns a child’s survival
mechanisms topsy-turvy. Emotional attachment and sexual violence become
so inextricably confused that even when the abuse is reported, the
child will often kick and scream as they are being removed from their
draconian environment by a social worker.
The other aspect that makes child abuse a perfect crime is that most
adults continue to believe that child-rearing is a private matter. They
don’t want a relative, friend or neighbor telling them how to raise
their child so they won’t intervene in someone else’s family. While we
all cherish our right to privacy, our devotion to this cornerstone of
democracy is strangling the lives of thousands of children every year.
Abusive parents and caretakers thrive on isolation and that is exactly
what their relatives, friends and neighbors give them.
Daily, people turn a blind eye to the screams, bruises and
frightened eyes of battered and molested children. Their reaction
actively reinforces the offender’s omnipotence and tells the child
you’re on your own, no one is going to help you. By powerful social
training we are more likely to intervene on behalf of a dog being
kicked by its owner than a child being mistreated by a parent. As
Americans we routinely gawk at the suffering of car accident victims
but we avert our eyes and ears when we see a child being backhanded in
a supermarket.
It is often only when a child becomes a mature adult that he or she
has the strength and emotional resources to confront the scourge of
their past.
We have done much in Oregon over the past few years to protect
victims of abuse, the most recent example being the passage of HB 2062,
which will prevent schools from silently moving sexually abusive
teachers one district to another. If the Senate saw fit just several
weeks ago to join the House in ending the scandalous practice of
allowing sexually abusive teachers from negotiating sweetheart deals
with their school districts, then it surely should see the wisdom in HB
2062.
Paul Mones is an attorney and a children’s rights advocate.
Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July! (Don't forget to catch our video and write your senator : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9n2MpPw1)
