Approximately 1.8 million adolescents in the U.S. have been the victims of sexual assault, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Often times perpetrators are exploiting a position of trust, and victims fear they won’t be believed or will get in trouble if they disclose what happened. Perpetrators slowly work their victims in order to gain access and ensure the victim will stay quiet. They are very good at identifying vulnerabilities in kids. Sexual assault is considered a “silent-violent epidemic” in the United States today.
One of the primary reasons victims don’t come forward to report a sexual assault is shame. Gershen Kaufman stated in Shame: The Power of Caring, “Shame is a natural reaction to being violated or abused. In fact, abuse, by its very nature, is humiliating and dehumanizing.” This sense of shame often causes victims to blame themselves for the sexual misconduct of their perpetrator. It is often easier to blame oneself than to admit that you were rendered helpless or victimized by another person.
Many victims also refuse to believe that the treatment they endured was actually abusive. They downplay how much they have been harmed. They convince themselves that “it wasn’t a big deal.” Victims may experience self-doubt, which can lead to self-blame, and the hopelessness of the situation can also lead to depression.
Fear of the repercussions is a huge obstacle victims face when it comes to reporting sexual assault. Also many don’t disclose, because they fear they won’t be believed. Victims who cannot see a way out of an abusive situation soon develop a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, and this, in turn, contributes to them giving up and not trying to escape or seek help.
On February 14th, 2019 NY Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed the Child Victims Act, giving childhood victims of sex abuse a limited opportunity to sue for damages in cases where those victims previously would have been denied by the state’s statute of limitations
The Child Victims Act includes provisions to:
- Increase the statute of limitations for criminal cases until, in the case of felonies, the 28th birthday of the victim.
- Expand the statute of limitations so that victims can bring civil cases up until their 55th birthday.
- Opens a one-year look-back period, which will start six months after the law takes effect, in which victims of any age can bring civil lawsuits against individuals or public and private institutions for abuse that may have occurred many decades ago
