WHAT:
- Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sexual Abuse Victims Act of 2022, which eliminates the statute of limitations for a variety of federal civil claims, such as sexual abuse of a minor and sexual exploitation of children.
- To help child sexual abuse survivors and their advocates, the Wilbanks CEASE Clinic – which is the first of its kind in the nation – has created a resource guide explaining common questions about the new law that can be found at https://cease.law.uga.edu/what-eliminating-limits-justice-child-sexual-abuse-victims-act-2022-means-survivors-georgia.
WHY:
- While this new law will help many survivors access the civil justice system, the law has its limits, according to Emma M. Hetherington, the director of the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic, which is operated out of the University of Georgia School of Law.
- “Sadly, most civil claims for child sexual abuse fall under state law and if survivors have claims in states with more restrictive statutes of limitations, such as Georgia, they may not benefit from the new law,” she said.
WHO:
- Contact: Emma M. Hetherington, [email protected]
- The Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) Clinic is the first of its kind in the nation, representing survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation in civil litigation and juvenile court dependency matters. The clinic provides direct representation to survivors and serves as a teaching center as part of the University of Georgia School of Law.
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