Two California legislators introduced a bill Monday that would end the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse and remove barriers for survivors seeking justice.
Assemblywoman Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, and state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, introduced Assembly Bill 452, which would enable child abuse survivors to come forward whenever they are ready to confront their traumatic experiences.
AB 452, or the Justice for Survivors Act, would remove the deadline for survivors reporting their abuse. Currently, those who allege they are sexually assaulted as a minor can only seek justice in court up until their 40th birthday.
“There are good reasons why survivors of sexual assault and abuse may take years or decades to confront their experience,” Skinner said. “This delay can be due to the complex ways in which we process trauma, and for self-protection, suppress painful memories.”
The bill builds upon the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act signed in 2022, which removes the statute of limitations for people filing claims in federal courts.
Many other states followed and eliminated this statute at the state level.
“It’s unacceptable and cruel that many California victims of childhood sex abuse are unable to hold their abusers accountable because our law now says their time has run out,” Skinner said. “AB 452 will right this wrong by eliminating the deadline for taking civil action against child abusers and those who aided or allowed the abuse to happen or covered it up.”
4 comments
You can bet Scott Weiner is against this one.
Good Point!
It is interesting that dems are supporting this when they are usually the culprits?
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