Sex trafficking and sexual abuse of our children are crimes that often occur in the shadows. Victims frequently feel shame or even blame for the abuse they suffer. In some cases, institutions cover up abuse and protect those who prey on the most precious and vulnerable members of our communities.
Abusers and traffickers are experts at manipulating children. This fact, unfortunately, combined with the shame victims may already feel, can result in victims not coming forward for years, decades and, in some cases, not at all.
Through sexual, physical, and emotional means, predators create in their victims both a fear of and a dependance on those causing them harm. When their abuser is a relative or someone else in a position of trust, the damage created can be especially profound.
Many victims of childhood sexual abuse are unable or unwilling to come forward and face their abusers until much later in life. Some won’t speak of the abuse suffered until their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. There are some estimates that one-third will never come forward at all.
The existing law in the State of Colorado has failed these victims. Survivors deserve the opportunity to seek justice, no matter when their abuse occurred. Justice can look different from one survivor to the next. For some, justice may be sought through a civil claim.
Current law places a restriction on how long after abuse occurs a civil claim can still be filed.
SCR24-001 the Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Amendment to the Colorado Constitution is one step towards providing a path for victims of sexual abuse to seek justice through a civil claim. If passed, this opportunity would exist regardless of when the abuse occurred; provided it occurred when the victim was still a minor. SCR24-001 would compel an important question to the voters of the State of Colorado this November. It would ask if there should be an amendment to the state constitution allowing lawmakers to pass legislation that would permit victims of childhood sexual abuse to bring a civil claim against their abusers regardless of the time elapsed.
By eliminating the civil claim statute of limitations for child sex abuse cases, we can offer survivors the opportunity to seek justice and hold their abusers accountable as well as institutions that sometimes protect these predators. On behalf of the Colorado Human Trafficking Council and the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, I call on our state legislators to stand with survivors, protect our children, and hold predators accountable by voting “Yes” on SCR24-001.
Chief Jim Baird is Chair of the Colorado Human Trafficking Council, Vice President of the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, and Breckenridge Chief of Police.
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