Thursday, 4:30 PM
Clergy abuse victims call for reform
By Christine McConville, Globe Staff
About 60 people, most alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, unveiled a bill Sunday designed to provide relief for victims of childhood sexual abuse, while making abusers more accountable and letting the public know how pervasive this abuse is.
After a solemn midday march Sunday from the Archdiocese of Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross to the front doors of a nearby law school, they outlined a plan to more fully address what some called a "silent, violent epidemic."
"All of us can’t fix what happened to us, but we universally want to protect future generations from going through this," Ann Hagan Webb of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests told a cheering crowd in Boston’s Chinatown after the legislative package was detailed.
Jetta Bernier, cochairwoman of the Coalition to Reform Sexual Abuse Laws, said the Comprehensive Protection from Childhood Sexual Abuse Act of 2007 aims to lay the groundwork for future reforms.
The group’s bill includes a provision that forces institutions that serve children to report to law enforcement credible information they receive about individuals who are alleged to have abused children in the past yet who are still working with children. It also calls for reducing financial barriers for survivors who cannot afford treatment by allowing them to tap into a victim’s compensation fund.
It aims to eliminate the statute of limitations in all future cases of people who were sexually abused before they were 18 years old, and eliminate the charitable immunity doctrine, which allows for insignificant monetary consequences against institutions that fail to protect children, the group said.
Christine McConville can be reached by e-mail at cmcconville@globe.com.
