DEMONSTRATION FOR REVIVAL In Support of HB 1947

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACTS:
John Salveson, 215-870-0680, saleveson@abolishsexabuse.org
David Shapiro, 484-866-1550, david@jewishcommunitywatch.org
Marci Hamilton, 215-353-8984, hamilton.marci@gmail.com
Steve Jimenez, 718-483-5670, stevejimenez53@msn.com

DEMONSTRATION FOR REVIVAL!!!!
In Support of HB 1947
WHEN: Monday, June 13th, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: Pennsylvania Capitol Steps on 3rd Street between Walnut and North Streets, Harrisburg, PA
WHO: Survivors, families, friends, supporters & all people of good will

WHY: JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF CHILD SEX ABUSE… FINALLY
Survivors of child sex abuse will join hands with families, friends, advocates, and an array of organizations from around the state on the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg on Monday, June 13th – to demonstrate their strong support for HB 1947, which revives expired statutes of limitations for all survivors up to age 50. Demonstrators will be joined by survivors and supporters from New York and New Jersey, who are pressing for statute-of-limitations reform in their home states.
Among the speakers will be MARCI HAMILTON, Resident Senior Scholar in the Fox Leadership Program at the University of Pennsylvania and Academic Director, CHILD USA; and JOHN SALVESON, clerical sex abuse survivor and President of the Foundation to Abolish Sex Abuse (FACSA). Participating organizations include the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR), Turning Point, NOVA (Network of Victim Assistance), Jewish Community Watch, and FACSA.
According to Hamilton, a renowned expert on child sex abuse statutes-of-limitation and constitutional law, “Pennsylvania has produced more in-depth grand jury reports on serial child predators in trusted organizations than any other state over the last decade. How much more evidence is needed for lawmakers to do the right thing and choose children over pedophiles and the institutions that support them? Children are persons with civil rights who deserve better than this state has delivered so far.”
John Salveson said, “This bill will benefit a majority of child sex abuse victims both retroactively and in the future. Senate leaders should be able to see through the misinformation and half truths being peddled by the PA Catholic Conference and Archdiocese of Philadelphia and support this bill. Their choice is clear and simple –
to protect children and sex abuse survivors or to protect the institutions who for decades have hidden and enabled abusers.”
Joining the above speakers to support justice for child sex abuse victims will be New York survivor and award-winning journalist, STEVE JIMENEZ, and DAVID SHAPIRO, CEO of Jewish Community Watch and former World Champion Martial Artist. In a powerful demonstration of his support for “breaking barriers to protect children from predators,” Shapiro will break over 150 boards on the steps of the Capitol.
“I will break 17 boards for 17-year-olds, 16 boards for 16-year-olds, and so on,” Shapiro said, “to represent all of the ages when children become victims of sexual abuse.” The following day at the state capitol in Albany, New York, Shapiro plans to break another 153 boards to demonstrate support for the Child Victims Act – for a total of 305 boards.
Jimenez, who was sexually abused by a Catholic teaching brother for nearly 4 years and is a tireless advocate for statute-of-limitation reform, added, “It is imperative that survivors join hands and hearts across state borders and any other barriers that exist. Our shared civil-rights mission is to protect children from sexual predators and win justice for those who have wrongfully been denied it.”

For more information: www.sol-reform.com