AUSTRALIA
Canberra Times
June 3 2016
Christopher Knaus
Anti-child-abuse campaigners have urged the ACT government to capitalise on the royal commission’s momentum and scrap time limits obstructing survivors from suing.
Legal time limits that obstruct significantly delayed civil claims can pose a major barrier for victims of child sexual abuse.
The vast majority of survivors are highly traumatised and can take many years to feel able to confront their past.
The royal commission last year urged states and territories to end their statute of limitation periods for such claims, a recommendation that prompted Victoria and NSW to act.
The commission described the statutes as “clearly inappropriate for survivors”, and recounted one victim’s evidence, heard in a private session:
“The statute is designed for someone who has tripped over in Kmart, it is not designed for victims of child sexual abuse,” the survivor said.
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