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	Let's Offer Sex Victims More Time By Rabbi Hanoch Hecht and the Rev. Anthony Evans Albany Times Union February 22, 2010 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=903423&category=OPINION NEW YORK -- The Child Victims Act is once again under consideration in the state Senate, with the Codes Committee likely voting on it this week. We and our fellow believers urge our elected representatives to pass it as quickly as possible to protect New York's children. The bill would extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse by five years, so that victims would not have to file charges before they are 23 or civil claims before they are 28. Even more important, it would create a one-year window for victims to file claims and pursue justice in court -- even if the statutes of limitations in their cases have expired. Perpetrators typically abuse time and time again and well into their elder years, so identifying them today, even if they committed this heinous act 20 years ago, can make a significant and perhaps transformative difference in the lives of those abused. California and Delaware have passed such legislation. In California, the law yielded the identities of more than 300 previously secret child predators in cases that have been settled. Now that we know that the Child Victims Act can accomplish so much for our children, it is immoral and at odds with our highest religious aspirations, to delay its passage. Both of our faith traditions make the protection of children and the vulnerable an absolute priority. Rarely is a legal tool so obviously aligned with our core beliefs and traditions. It is a fact that victims of child sex abuse need years and usually decades to come forward. When statutes of limitations are short, the child predators win. This bill should have been passed when it was introduced by Assemblywoman Marge Markey, D-Queens, five years ago. Sadly, every religious organization has had to deal with this issue, along with many public or private organizations. Child sex abuse is an epidemic of misery that we must do everything we can to stop. In fact, it is estimated, based on studies, that one in four girls and one in five boys are sexually abused and only 10 percent of victims ever go to authorities. Some -- like the Catholic Conference -- have taken the position that the window provision is not good public policy because it might hurt the finances of religious institutions. This is a cold-hearted response to deep-seated suffering that we vehemently reject. In California, the window led to only one diocese filing for voluntary bankruptcy -- which was dismissed because of the diocese's wealth. In all of California, settlements were paid out of insurance proceeds and the sale of properties unrelated to religious purposes. Services were not cut and schools were not closed because victims were finally able to go to court. The only other bankruptcy filing following the passage of window legislation also is a voluntary one and is pending in Wilmington. New York's proposed window is the most modest yet to be considered in the United States. Unlike the California and Delaware acts, New York sets an age cap on victims, so those over age 53 will not be able to bring a claim. This was in part a response to the Catholic Conference's objection that the bill was too open-ended. With that amendment, their concerns have been fairly met. The New York bill also applies to all institutions, not just religious entities, so no one can claim it is biased against any organization or group. Religious organizations actually will be better off in the long run if the Child Victims Act is passed. We want to know the truth: who among us is suffering, who is culpable, and whether our institutions need to change our own policies to protect children. The secrets New York law has permitted to fester need sunshine today. Our beliefs demand passage of the Child Victims Act. Rabbi Hanoch Hecht is special projects manager for the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education and principal of Sixminuterabbi.com. The Rev. Anthony Evans is president of the National Black Church Initiative.
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