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	Church Leader Wants Child Sex Abuse Laws Changed Courier Mail January 17, 2009 http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24925555-3102,00.html A LEADING archbishop has launched a crusade to change child sex abuse laws, describing them as "unfair, inequitable and harsh". Brisbane's Anglican leader Archbishop Phillip Aspinall dismisses the laws, which normally require a victim to launch legal action by the time they turn 21. Archbishop Aspinall began lobbying the Queensland Government to change the laws in 2005 in response to requests from people who had been sexually abused as children. "The Anglican Church has compassion for all victims of child sexual abuse and is focused on ensuring those victims receive the care and support they need," he said in a statement to AAP. "The rights of child sexual abuse victims should not be undermined because they have not brought their case forward in a given time. "It can take victims many years before they confront the abuse that has happened to them and seek healing and justice." The victims were often not able to confront the abuse from their childhood until well into their 30s or 40s and the statute of limitations (Limitation of Actions Act 1974) did not account for that, he said. The Archbishop says he has the support of the heads of other churches. He also said the processes and systems should also operate fairly with respect to people accused of perpetrating abuse. If laws were changed though, the Archbishop doubted that victims who had already had their cases heard would have grounds to have their cases heard again. "I am not a lawyer, but I do not think any such change could affect cases already dealt with by the courts or settled by binding mediation agreements," Archbishop Aspinall said.
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