NEW YORK
Buffalo News
By Melanie Blow
New York cannot both protect children and those who sexually abuse them. That’s why a fifth of New York’s children are sexually abused while only one in 10 abusers ever see a day behind bars.
There is no effective way to prosecute child sexual abuse while abusers are protected by a statute of limitations on the crime. Research proves survivors need an average of 21 years before they can talk about their abuse. Child sexual abuse is usually committed by someone the victim knows and trusts. That relationship allows the abuser to manipulate the child into years or decades of silence.
Child sexual abuse cases are often hard to prosecute, meaning justice in civil court is as important. Successful lawsuits create documents that can block sex offenders from working with children. They ignite conversations within families, where half of child sexual abuse happens. The threat of lawsuits ensures institutions working with children adopt best practices that protect them.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the cost of surviving child abuse at $210,000 per victim. Child sexual abuse is a stressor so intense it changes the way a child’s brain, endocrine system and DNA develop, making abuse survivors more likely to develop cancer, diabetes and heart disease later in life, along with a host of mental illnesses. Currently, taxpayers shoulder most of this burden. Transferring the cost to guilty parties makes sense.
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