Survivors have more time to file complaints
A new law that takes effect Jan. 1 extends the statute of limitations for childhood sexual assault survivors to come forward and file a complaint against abusers. The new law extends the cutoff from age 26 to age 40.
Local leaders hope that opens the floodgates to allow more people to come forward.
“When someone is old enough to talk about the abuse (they experienced) when they were a child, they should be able to report that and justice should be served,” Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said earlier this week about the new law.
He hopes the #metoo movement helps facilitate others to come forward.
“We see this in the Catholic Church,” Honsal said. “One person is brave enough to say ‘so and so did this to me.’ Then scores of others come forward and say ‘me too.’ “
That was the intent of the bill authored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego).
“The idea that someone who is assaulted as a child can actually run out of time to report that abuse is outrageous,” Gonzalez said in a prepared statement after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in October. “More and more, we’re hearing about people who were victims years ago but were not ready to come forward to tell their story until now. We shouldn’t be telling victims their time is up when in reality we need them to come forward to protect the community from future abuse.”
Honsal echoed the emphasis on the need to protect the community.
“We know, based on our trends, that abusers don’t do this once and learn their lesson because nobody said anything,” he said. “(This law) opens the door when someone is ready to talk.”
The new law allows for survivors to file civil lawsuits against their abusers for damages as a result of the abuse.
Brenda Bishop, executive director of Humboldt Domestic Violence Services, said the new law could allow for survivors of sexual abuse to find some closure and healing from past trauma.
“Sexual abuse is incredibly widespread,” Bishop said. “It is destructive on all levels of society. There are all different levels of healing for survivors. I think it’s a first step.”
“It might be an opportunity for them to have closure,” she continued. “… It’s difficult for survivors. It’s hard to seek justice. They want that person to be held accountable.”
She added that rural counties and the prevalence of sexual abuse “go hand-in-hand.”
“The amount of sexual assault in rural counties is probably much higher than we have previously estimated.” she said. “Rural communities, in general, have a lot of problems.”
She noted that in rural communities, it can be harder for survivors to report abuse because living in small close-knit communities can deter reporting.
“You have less of a chance of people wanting to come forward,” she said, adding, “Rural women carry a greater part of the burden obtaining services. … if you are a woman of color that severely limits your opportunity of getting out of violent situations or sexual assault situations.”
She urged survivors who might want to sue their abusers to start by calling local 24-hour crisis lines run by either Humboldt Domestic Violence Services (707-4436042) or the North Coast Rape Crisis Team (707445-2881).
“Sometimes what a survivor wants to do is talk over the situation and see what their options are,” she said. “They want to just be heard. Sometimes it’s just important to come forward and be able to process. Our motto here is ‘We believe you.’ “