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	A Fair Fight By Carmen Durso National Survivors Advocates Coalition September 15, 2011 http://nationalsurvivoradvocatescoalition.wordpress.com/editorials/ Chair of the Committee to Reform the Sexual Abuse Laws of Massachusetts When we were kids, the playground had rules. One of the most important ones was that every fight had to be fair: no biting, gouging, ganging up, or picking on someone smaller than you. Once in a while, there might be a bully who violated the rules. We would carefully explain the rules to him, and he usually didn’t make the same mistake again. Simple rules. Simple justice. When an adult sexually abuses a child, he is the ultimate bully, and it is the most basic violation of those rules. The child is defenseless, and often there is no one who will stand up for him, or make things right. For that child there is no justice. For adult sexual abuse survivors, who reach a point in their lives when they are ready and able to fight back, things only get worse. The rules for such fights are neither fair nor simple. Prosecutions are impossible because of limited criminal statutes of limitation. Civil suits are often blocked for the same reason. And charitable immunity laws assure that any blow successfully landed by the accuser will be just a light tap, instead of a knockout. On September 27 , we can end this injustice. On that day there will be an 11:00 a.m. Rally, and a 1:00 p.m. Committee Hearing at the Massachusetts State House on House No. 469, a bill which would eliminate civil and criminal statutes of limitations in child sex abuse case, as well as charitable immunity. Why do we need to do this? For the victims we know about: 552 Boston clergy abuse victims in 2003; 100?s more since then; nearly 100 victims of Dr. Melvin Levine; victims of a international tennis pro; thousands more in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Africa & Australia, that we read about daily. For the victims we don’t now about yet: the uncounted victims of incest; the Center for Disease Control’s estimate of the frequency of sexual abuse: 1 in 4 girls, and 1 in 6 boys -bout 1.3 million in Massachusetts. They all deserve simple justice. Please come on September 27th. Stop the bullies. Help child sex abuse victims to get a Fair Fight. Thank you. CARMEN L. DURSO, ESQUIRE 175 Federal Street, Suite 1425 Boston, MA 02110-2287 617-728-9123 / 800-287-9123 Contact: dursolaw@tiac.net
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