To protect our children, we teach them about stranger danger, valuable lessons because the danger is real.
But the greater threat is much more frightening. One in ten children will be a victim of sexual abuse, the large majority of them girls, victims of an assault they cannot fend off or understand because eighty percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators are someone the child knows and trusts.
Rachel Webster, a survivor of child sexual abuse. She was five years old the first time she was sexually abused by her uncle. Rachel was brave and told her parents, but the response was familiar to many child victims.
“No one ever really talked about it again, other than to say let’s not talk about this,” she said.
That leaves a child alone and confused. The majority of young victims of sexual abuse never report the crime because of fear, feelings of shame or guilt. They believe that somehow they were to blame.
And the long term effects on adult survivors range from physical issues like eating disorders, and chronic pain, to emotional struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem… the haunting feeling that something is wrong but you don’t know what it is.
If you are someone you love is a victim of child sexual abuse, there is help available.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE
Call toll-free 24 hours a day anywhere in the U.S. RAINN provides confidential counseling and support for survivors of sexual assault. The hotline automatically routes calls to the rape crisis center nearest the caller by reading the area code and prefix of the caller’s phone number.
Full article here: http://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle/family/help-for-child-sexual-abuse-victims/35944474
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-10-22 17:24:552015-10-22 17:24:55Help for child sexual abuse victims, Click On Detroit
Ever since the child abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church a number of years ago, there has been a heightened awareness that children need to be protected even in places that already should be considered safe havens.
Now, because of the recent crimes against children by a trusted, public figure — former Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky — the whole issue of child protection has been brought to the forefront.
New state legislation has placed a greater emphasis on the need for nonprofit organizations and places of worship of all sizes and creeds to maintain a healthy, safe environment for all children involved in the community they create. There now must be more thorough screening and closer scrutiny of the volunteer corps that help run these organizations. While training and greater awareness is clearly essential for those serving children, Samaritan Counseling Center of Lancaster has been ahead of the curve.
In 2011 under the leadership of Linda Crockett, Samaritan Counseling Center initiated a program called SafeChurch. Samaritan’s premise, according to the explanation on their website, is that a “safe church sees itself as a sanctuary where one finds protection, support, guidance and the presence of God.” They point out that their SafeChurch Project is designed to protect children and youth from sexual abuse. Their program helps churches to “create policies and guidelines developed in alignment with (their) mission and theological understanding to create a sanctuary where all can gather in an atmosphere of trust and safety.”
The concept they use is to form clusters of churches from different traditions to attempt to shift the congregational culture toward the protection of children — those faith institutions are encouraged to provide and foster an environment in which youth are protected from sexual harm wherever they live, play or go to school.
A typical cluster consists of six to nine churches. This model is working and 47 churches have completed training programs through Samaritan.
According to Diane Renfro, program administrator for education and consultation at Samaritan, the concept of SafeChurch was born when Crockett was working with individual churches and pastors. The idea emerged that there would be value in having congregations trained before situations arose that would be devastating to a child and the congregation as well. As a result this training program was established. Samaritan secured a grant to develop policies and procedures that could be used by churches to help prevent sexual abuse.
Churches were engaged in the SafeChurch project prior to the Sandusky case, but in the years since his crimes were made public, a much greater sensitivity to the need to protect children has developed. The Sandusky case also prompted the passage of legislation that now mandates that volunteers who work with children have a child abuse certification and are mandated reporters — that is, they must report abuse to civil authorities. It’s not optional.
The program is structured in the local church under a team concept. Team members are designated to go to the trainings and develop policy and procedures for their church. There are typically six team meetings over the course of a year and then a seventh in which staff, volunteers and others come together to celebrate what has been accomplished.
Churches that have finished the program are listed on the Samaritan Center’s website so that the public may know what churches have completed SafeChurch training.
All churches should know that there are now compliance issues. Churches are not mandated to have training; however, to help ensure that their facilities are safe havens for their young people, there are policies and procedures available through Samaritan Center that can really assist congregations in meeting their goals.
We live in a different era today. People from all walks of life abuse children. Because of their open and welcoming nature, churches and other faith-based institutions could be places frequented by those who wish to exploit children.
We must be vigilant.
A program like SafeChurch can make the job easier.
Full article: http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/making-places-of-worship-safe-havens-for-children/article_4c867a1a-6df3-11e5-a93e-0b1a96a784cf.html
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-10-12 03:34:492015-10-12 03:34:49Louis A. Butcher, Jr., Making places of worship safe havens for children, Lancaster Online
A major focus of Samaritan Counseling Center is preventing child sexual abuse. Our therapists see the devastation it causes, the ripple effect often extending into midlife. Samaritan SafeChurch is a project we started to educate faith communities about sexual abuse prevention.
As director of Samaritan’s Clergy & Congregation Care, I started SafeChurch in 2011 because I know that people of faith find it unacceptable that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before age 18.
Many congregations are ready to do the hard work needed to create safety for children and bring healing to survivors, and we have grown rapidly into a national ecumenical training program.
Many parishioners feel ashamed of being in the news for institutional failure to protect children. They tell us if they are to be in the news at all, they want it to be for their fierce commitment to protecting children from sexual harm. They want their churches and communities to be safe places. They care about justice and healing for survivors, and accountability for offenders.
Reforming Pennsylvania’s civil statute of limitations would help to ensure such accountability.
In Pennsylvania, adult victims of childhood sexual abuse have only until they’re 30 to bring civil action against their abusers. Criminal action may be brought until the victim reaches the age of 50.
The public narrative that statute of limitations reform is all about the Roman Catholic Church must change. It’s true that the Catholic Church has fiercely resisted statute-of-limitations reform across the United States.
But this is also true: Ninety-five percent of victims have been abused by family members, teachers, baby sitters, neighbors, others. An estimated 5 percent are molested by clergy of any denomination.
Related: LNP Editorial Board calls for reform
In Pennsylvania, by the time many survivors begin to deal with their sexual abuse, they are well past their 30th birthdays and the window for civil justice is closed under our current statute-of-limitations law. Many victims suffer in silence for decades, unfairly carrying shame that rightfully belongs to the perpetrator.
Offenders are very good at manipulating children to keep the secret and convincing them that the abuse is their fault. Some victims are unable to remember what happened until a stressful midlife event triggers memories that were shoved away in childhood in order to survive.
The reality of delayed disclosure among victims of child sexual abuse is supported well by research. Given all that we know, the window of justice should not close at age 30.
So what does justice for a survivor look like?
First, it means telling their stories. Keeping the statute-of-limitations window open gives survivors an opportunity to tell their stories and, if they are found credible, finally hold the offender accountable — something the survivors could not make happen as children.
Second, justice means restitution. Victims of sexual abuse are at higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder than combat veterans. They often self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, attempt suicide, have difficulty with careers and relationships. Restitution helps pay for the high cost of healing.
Statute-of-limitations reform will finally shift the cost of healing from the victim to the one who caused the harm.
And finally, justice includes protecting children. If this reform is enacted, more offenders will be identified, and parents will be able to make better decisions about how to keep their kids safe. Many offenders continue to operate in schools, sports, and churches — while their victims of decades ago have nightmares about the children at risk today.
I spoke at a press conference at the state Capitol on Sept. 21 organized by Berks County Democratic state Rep. Mark Rozzi to highlight the urgent need for reform.
We need action on several bills, including House Bills 661 (to raise the age at which a victim may file a civil claim to 50), 655 (to end the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse) and 951 (opening a two-year window for child sex-abuse victims now over age 30 to file civil suits), and Senate Bill 582 (the Senate version of HB 661). These bills are languishing in committee. Similar bills have stalled in the past.
Sharing a podium with Rep. Rozzi and other advocates for children’s justice, I offered a voice from the faith community and closed with these words:
“As people of faith, we are tired of a few politicians and institutions standing in the way. Like the prophet Amos, who, in a time when the religious and political elites oppressed the most vulnerable, spoke truth to power with his words, ‘Let Justice roll down like waters!’ we demand justice for survivors, accountability for offenders, and the safety of children. What person of any religious tradition, or moral conscience, could stand in the way of that?’ ”
Full article here: http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/child-sex-abuse-victims-deserve-time-to-seek-justice/article_2444f3b2-6e0a-11e5-a8ee-e7549b4ab7d1.html
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-10-10 04:38:442015-10-10 04:38:44Linda Crockett, Child sex-abuse victims deserve time to seek justice, Lancaster Online
BILL COSBY, the 78-year-old entertainer, has been accused of rape by dozens of women. On October 9th, he will give a deposition in a lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, now in her 50s, who says the comedian assaulted her at the Playboy mansion when she was fifteen years old. But this is only the second time Mr Cosby has faced civil litigation for as many as 40 episodes of alleged sexual abuse, and he has never been charged with a crime.
How has Mr Cosby largely managed to stay out of court? The alleged violations in question all occurred years ago, and many states’ statutes of limitations impose limits on how long a person may be held legally accountable for an illicit act. In Colorado and a few other states, there is a 10-year cap on prosecuting people for sexual assault. In Arkansas, the limit is six years; it is 20 years in Ohio. The patchwork grows more complex when considering whether the rape was first-degree, or second or third, and when adding the factor of age. In Oregon, the statute of limitations for rape and sexual abuse is six years, but in cases involving minors, it runs until the accuser turns 30 or within 12 years after the offence is reported to the police, whichever comes sooner. But there is no national norm for a statute of limitations for rape, as there is for the crime of murder.
Some would like to change that. Last year, Wendy Davis, a Democrat who lost a bid to become the governor of Texas, argued that her state should lift its 10-year statute of limitations for rape. There are many cases, she argued, in which rapists are identified or admit their crimes after the window has closed. To “make survivors pay the price for our failure and neglect by denying them justice is almost criminal in itself,” she said. The National Centre for Victims of Crime notes that “only 46 percent of rapes that occur in the United States are reported to police and only 9 percent of these reports result in prosecution.” The organisation suggests that more states adopt an exception to their statutes of limitations when DNA evidence is available linking an individual to a sex crime.
In a speech last month to bishops in Philadelphia, Pope Francis declared that “the crimes and sins of sexual abuse of minors cannot be kept secret any longer.” The Catholic Church, he promised, will pursue a path of “zealous watchfulness…to protect minors…All those responsible will be held accountable.” Yet the Catholic Church does not favour scrapping statutes of limitations and is actively lobbying against such reforms in Iowa, Maryland and the District of Columbia. “Over time witnesses’ memories fade, evidence is lost or never found, and in many instances perpetrators or witnesses may be deceased,” explains a spokesperson for the church. Some counter that survivors of sexual abuse should have more time to press criminal charges or sue in civil court, as years or decades may pass before victims realise the gravity of the violation.
Full article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/10/economist-explains-3
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-10-10 04:34:152015-10-10 04:34:15The Economist explains Why sex crimes have statutes of limitations, Economist
Sitting on a shabby green sofa somewhere in the ISIS-controlled city of Mosul, Iraq, the militants laugh and joke as one of them films their excited chatter.
“Today is the female sex slave market day, which has been ordained,” explains a skinny, black-clad Jihadi, gesturing at the camera.
“With Allah’s permission, each will get a share,” promises another of the fighters.
“Where is my Yazidi girl?” asks the first, a wide grin splitting his straggly-bearded face.
The Yazidis are an ancient people, followers of a unique religion that blends elements of Islam, Judaism and Christianity with even more ancient practices, including sun worship.
They believe in a single god who created the Earth and left it in the care of a peacock angel, Malak Ta’us.
But this belief — decried as “devil worship” by ISIS — has been used by the Islamic extremists to justify murder, enslavement and rape.
“They took our girls, our homes and our families,” says Yazidi spiritual leader Baba Sheikh. “They took all of them. We say our fruitful generation is our children, but they took them all, young and old.”
Noor (not her real name) was sold into slavery after ISIS overran her village in the Iraqi province of Sinjar. The 22-year-old says the militant who picked her out raped her — but not before trying to justify himself.
“He showed me a letter and said, ‘This shows any captured women will become Muslim if 10 ISIS fighters rape her.’ There was a flag of ISIS and a picture of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.”
After abusing her, he passed her on to 11 of his friends, who also raped her.
In ISIS territory, Yazidi women can be bought and sold for money, bartered for weapons, even given as a gift; but this is not a simple commercial transaction — ISIS has made rape and slavery part and parcel of its — brutal — theology.
“ISIS fighters told us, ‘This is the rule of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and we must do it,'” Noor explains. “[They said] ‘Anyone who doesn’t convert to Islam, we will kill the males and marry the girls. They are the spoils of war. ‘”
In its online English magazine, Dabiq, ISIS lays out its justification for its brutality against the Yazidis on religious grounds:
“Enslaving the families of the kuffar [unbelievers] and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah [Islamic law] that if anyone were to deny or mock, he would be denying or mocking the verses of the Qur’an and the narrations of the Prophet.”
But theologians the world over point out that ISIS’s actions have no basis in Islam.
“The people of ISIS don’t represent Islam at all. In fact, if anything, they are anti-Islam,” says London-based Imam Ajmal Masroor. “They have hijacked Islam. They have denigrated Islam. They have desecrated it.”
“In Islam taking anyone as captive, mistreating them using them as sex slaves, torturing them and killing them is totally prohibited.
Yazidi women raped and sold by ISIS
Yazidi women raped and sold by ISIS 03:39
“That’s what God says in the Quran: ‘Those people who lose their capacity to use their brain, their perceptive capacity to see and hear the truth, they are worse than animals.’
“That’s exactly what they have demonstrated. There is no room for any discussion on this. It’s haram [forbidden], it’s anti-Islam and it should be treated as such.”
For Yazidis, the tragedy is so great that their own strict traditions have had to adjust.
‘Hundreds’ of Yazidi women killing themselves in ISIS captivity
Before ISIS attacked Sinjar, marrying outside the Yazidi faith was strictly condemned. Those accused of adultery — and even victims of rape — could be killed for “dishonoring” their family.
But that is changing, according to Baba Sheikh, who desperately wants those abducted by ISIS to return.
“Anyone who comes back will be warmly welcomed home,” he insists. “They should keep their heads up. They have done nothing wrong. And they should not be worried.”
His words are a source of comfort for the tormented; even as ISIS attempts to destroy the Yazidi people in the name of religion, the terror group’s victims may still find solace at home.
Full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/08/middleeast/isis-rape-theology-soldiers-rape-women-to-make-them-muslim/index.html
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-10-09 03:25:292015-10-09 03:25:29Atika Shubert and Bharati Naik, ISIS soldiers told to rape women 'to make them Muslim', CNN
http://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpg00SOL Reformhttp://sol-reform.com/News/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Hamilton-Logo.jpgSOL Reform2015-10-09 03:02:152015-10-09 03:02:15Amicus Brief in MA Sliney Case
Help for child sexual abuse victims, Click On Detroit
/in Michigan /by SOL ReformTo protect our children, we teach them about stranger danger, valuable lessons because the danger is real.
But the greater threat is much more frightening. One in ten children will be a victim of sexual abuse, the large majority of them girls, victims of an assault they cannot fend off or understand because eighty percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators are someone the child knows and trusts.
Rachel Webster, a survivor of child sexual abuse. She was five years old the first time she was sexually abused by her uncle. Rachel was brave and told her parents, but the response was familiar to many child victims.
“No one ever really talked about it again, other than to say let’s not talk about this,” she said.
That leaves a child alone and confused. The majority of young victims of sexual abuse never report the crime because of fear, feelings of shame or guilt. They believe that somehow they were to blame.
And the long term effects on adult survivors range from physical issues like eating disorders, and chronic pain, to emotional struggles with anxiety and low self-esteem… the haunting feeling that something is wrong but you don’t know what it is.
If you are someone you love is a victim of child sexual abuse, there is help available.
Help:
http://www.mcedsv.org/help.html
http://www.mcedsv.org/help/find-help-in-michigan/directory/search.html
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN): 1-800-656-HOPE
Call toll-free 24 hours a day anywhere in the U.S. RAINN provides confidential counseling and support for survivors of sexual assault. The hotline automatically routes calls to the rape crisis center nearest the caller by reading the area code and prefix of the caller’s phone number.
Full article here: http://www.clickondetroit.com/lifestyle/family/help-for-child-sexual-abuse-victims/35944474
Louis A. Butcher, Jr., Making places of worship safe havens for children, Lancaster Online
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformEver since the child abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church a number of years ago, there has been a heightened awareness that children need to be protected even in places that already should be considered safe havens.
Now, because of the recent crimes against children by a trusted, public figure — former Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky — the whole issue of child protection has been brought to the forefront.
New state legislation has placed a greater emphasis on the need for nonprofit organizations and places of worship of all sizes and creeds to maintain a healthy, safe environment for all children involved in the community they create. There now must be more thorough screening and closer scrutiny of the volunteer corps that help run these organizations. While training and greater awareness is clearly essential for those serving children, Samaritan Counseling Center of Lancaster has been ahead of the curve.
In 2011 under the leadership of Linda Crockett, Samaritan Counseling Center initiated a program called SafeChurch. Samaritan’s premise, according to the explanation on their website, is that a “safe church sees itself as a sanctuary where one finds protection, support, guidance and the presence of God.” They point out that their SafeChurch Project is designed to protect children and youth from sexual abuse. Their program helps churches to “create policies and guidelines developed in alignment with (their) mission and theological understanding to create a sanctuary where all can gather in an atmosphere of trust and safety.”
The concept they use is to form clusters of churches from different traditions to attempt to shift the congregational culture toward the protection of children — those faith institutions are encouraged to provide and foster an environment in which youth are protected from sexual harm wherever they live, play or go to school.
A typical cluster consists of six to nine churches. This model is working and 47 churches have completed training programs through Samaritan.
According to Diane Renfro, program administrator for education and consultation at Samaritan, the concept of SafeChurch was born when Crockett was working with individual churches and pastors. The idea emerged that there would be value in having congregations trained before situations arose that would be devastating to a child and the congregation as well. As a result this training program was established. Samaritan secured a grant to develop policies and procedures that could be used by churches to help prevent sexual abuse.
Churches were engaged in the SafeChurch project prior to the Sandusky case, but in the years since his crimes were made public, a much greater sensitivity to the need to protect children has developed. The Sandusky case also prompted the passage of legislation that now mandates that volunteers who work with children have a child abuse certification and are mandated reporters — that is, they must report abuse to civil authorities. It’s not optional.
The program is structured in the local church under a team concept. Team members are designated to go to the trainings and develop policy and procedures for their church. There are typically six team meetings over the course of a year and then a seventh in which staff, volunteers and others come together to celebrate what has been accomplished.
Churches that have finished the program are listed on the Samaritan Center’s website so that the public may know what churches have completed SafeChurch training.
All churches should know that there are now compliance issues. Churches are not mandated to have training; however, to help ensure that their facilities are safe havens for their young people, there are policies and procedures available through Samaritan Center that can really assist congregations in meeting their goals.
We live in a different era today. People from all walks of life abuse children. Because of their open and welcoming nature, churches and other faith-based institutions could be places frequented by those who wish to exploit children.
We must be vigilant.
A program like SafeChurch can make the job easier.
Full article: http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/making-places-of-worship-safe-havens-for-children/article_4c867a1a-6df3-11e5-a93e-0b1a96a784cf.html
Linda Crockett, Child sex-abuse victims deserve time to seek justice, Lancaster Online
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformA major focus of Samaritan Counseling Center is preventing child sexual abuse. Our therapists see the devastation it causes, the ripple effect often extending into midlife. Samaritan SafeChurch is a project we started to educate faith communities about sexual abuse prevention.
As director of Samaritan’s Clergy & Congregation Care, I started SafeChurch in 2011 because I know that people of faith find it unacceptable that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before age 18.
Many congregations are ready to do the hard work needed to create safety for children and bring healing to survivors, and we have grown rapidly into a national ecumenical training program.
Many parishioners feel ashamed of being in the news for institutional failure to protect children. They tell us if they are to be in the news at all, they want it to be for their fierce commitment to protecting children from sexual harm. They want their churches and communities to be safe places. They care about justice and healing for survivors, and accountability for offenders.
Reforming Pennsylvania’s civil statute of limitations would help to ensure such accountability.
In Pennsylvania, adult victims of childhood sexual abuse have only until they’re 30 to bring civil action against their abusers. Criminal action may be brought until the victim reaches the age of 50.
The public narrative that statute of limitations reform is all about the Roman Catholic Church must change. It’s true that the Catholic Church has fiercely resisted statute-of-limitations reform across the United States.
But this is also true: Ninety-five percent of victims have been abused by family members, teachers, baby sitters, neighbors, others. An estimated 5 percent are molested by clergy of any denomination.
Related: LNP Editorial Board calls for reform
In Pennsylvania, by the time many survivors begin to deal with their sexual abuse, they are well past their 30th birthdays and the window for civil justice is closed under our current statute-of-limitations law. Many victims suffer in silence for decades, unfairly carrying shame that rightfully belongs to the perpetrator.
Offenders are very good at manipulating children to keep the secret and convincing them that the abuse is their fault. Some victims are unable to remember what happened until a stressful midlife event triggers memories that were shoved away in childhood in order to survive.
The reality of delayed disclosure among victims of child sexual abuse is supported well by research. Given all that we know, the window of justice should not close at age 30.
So what does justice for a survivor look like?
First, it means telling their stories. Keeping the statute-of-limitations window open gives survivors an opportunity to tell their stories and, if they are found credible, finally hold the offender accountable — something the survivors could not make happen as children.
Second, justice means restitution. Victims of sexual abuse are at higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder than combat veterans. They often self-medicate with drugs and alcohol, attempt suicide, have difficulty with careers and relationships. Restitution helps pay for the high cost of healing.
Statute-of-limitations reform will finally shift the cost of healing from the victim to the one who caused the harm.
And finally, justice includes protecting children. If this reform is enacted, more offenders will be identified, and parents will be able to make better decisions about how to keep their kids safe. Many offenders continue to operate in schools, sports, and churches — while their victims of decades ago have nightmares about the children at risk today.
I spoke at a press conference at the state Capitol on Sept. 21 organized by Berks County Democratic state Rep. Mark Rozzi to highlight the urgent need for reform.
We need action on several bills, including House Bills 661 (to raise the age at which a victim may file a civil claim to 50), 655 (to end the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse) and 951 (opening a two-year window for child sex-abuse victims now over age 30 to file civil suits), and Senate Bill 582 (the Senate version of HB 661). These bills are languishing in committee. Similar bills have stalled in the past.
Sharing a podium with Rep. Rozzi and other advocates for children’s justice, I offered a voice from the faith community and closed with these words:
“As people of faith, we are tired of a few politicians and institutions standing in the way. Like the prophet Amos, who, in a time when the religious and political elites oppressed the most vulnerable, spoke truth to power with his words, ‘Let Justice roll down like waters!’ we demand justice for survivors, accountability for offenders, and the safety of children. What person of any religious tradition, or moral conscience, could stand in the way of that?’ ”
Full article here: http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/child-sex-abuse-victims-deserve-time-to-seek-justice/article_2444f3b2-6e0a-11e5-a8ee-e7549b4ab7d1.html
The Economist explains Why sex crimes have statutes of limitations, Economist
/in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania /by SOL ReformBILL COSBY, the 78-year-old entertainer, has been accused of rape by dozens of women. On October 9th, he will give a deposition in a lawsuit brought by Judy Huth, now in her 50s, who says the comedian assaulted her at the Playboy mansion when she was fifteen years old. But this is only the second time Mr Cosby has faced civil litigation for as many as 40 episodes of alleged sexual abuse, and he has never been charged with a crime.
How has Mr Cosby largely managed to stay out of court? The alleged violations in question all occurred years ago, and many states’ statutes of limitations impose limits on how long a person may be held legally accountable for an illicit act. In Colorado and a few other states, there is a 10-year cap on prosecuting people for sexual assault. In Arkansas, the limit is six years; it is 20 years in Ohio. The patchwork grows more complex when considering whether the rape was first-degree, or second or third, and when adding the factor of age. In Oregon, the statute of limitations for rape and sexual abuse is six years, but in cases involving minors, it runs until the accuser turns 30 or within 12 years after the offence is reported to the police, whichever comes sooner. But there is no national norm for a statute of limitations for rape, as there is for the crime of murder.
Some would like to change that. Last year, Wendy Davis, a Democrat who lost a bid to become the governor of Texas, argued that her state should lift its 10-year statute of limitations for rape. There are many cases, she argued, in which rapists are identified or admit their crimes after the window has closed. To “make survivors pay the price for our failure and neglect by denying them justice is almost criminal in itself,” she said. The National Centre for Victims of Crime notes that “only 46 percent of rapes that occur in the United States are reported to police and only 9 percent of these reports result in prosecution.” The organisation suggests that more states adopt an exception to their statutes of limitations when DNA evidence is available linking an individual to a sex crime.
In a speech last month to bishops in Philadelphia, Pope Francis declared that “the crimes and sins of sexual abuse of minors cannot be kept secret any longer.” The Catholic Church, he promised, will pursue a path of “zealous watchfulness…to protect minors…All those responsible will be held accountable.” Yet the Catholic Church does not favour scrapping statutes of limitations and is actively lobbying against such reforms in Iowa, Maryland and the District of Columbia. “Over time witnesses’ memories fade, evidence is lost or never found, and in many instances perpetrators or witnesses may be deceased,” explains a spokesperson for the church. Some counter that survivors of sexual abuse should have more time to press criminal charges or sue in civil court, as years or decades may pass before victims realise the gravity of the violation.
Full article: http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/10/economist-explains-3
Atika Shubert and Bharati Naik, ISIS soldiers told to rape women ‘to make them Muslim’, CNN
/in Uncategorized /by SOL ReformSitting on a shabby green sofa somewhere in the ISIS-controlled city of Mosul, Iraq, the militants laugh and joke as one of them films their excited chatter.
“Today is the female sex slave market day, which has been ordained,” explains a skinny, black-clad Jihadi, gesturing at the camera.
“With Allah’s permission, each will get a share,” promises another of the fighters.
“Where is my Yazidi girl?” asks the first, a wide grin splitting his straggly-bearded face.
The Yazidis are an ancient people, followers of a unique religion that blends elements of Islam, Judaism and Christianity with even more ancient practices, including sun worship.
They believe in a single god who created the Earth and left it in the care of a peacock angel, Malak Ta’us.
But this belief — decried as “devil worship” by ISIS — has been used by the Islamic extremists to justify murder, enslavement and rape.
“They took our girls, our homes and our families,” says Yazidi spiritual leader Baba Sheikh. “They took all of them. We say our fruitful generation is our children, but they took them all, young and old.”
Noor (not her real name) was sold into slavery after ISIS overran her village in the Iraqi province of Sinjar. The 22-year-old says the militant who picked her out raped her — but not before trying to justify himself.
“He showed me a letter and said, ‘This shows any captured women will become Muslim if 10 ISIS fighters rape her.’ There was a flag of ISIS and a picture of Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.”
After abusing her, he passed her on to 11 of his friends, who also raped her.
In ISIS territory, Yazidi women can be bought and sold for money, bartered for weapons, even given as a gift; but this is not a simple commercial transaction — ISIS has made rape and slavery part and parcel of its — brutal — theology.
“ISIS fighters told us, ‘This is the rule of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and we must do it,'” Noor explains. “[They said] ‘Anyone who doesn’t convert to Islam, we will kill the males and marry the girls. They are the spoils of war. ‘”
In its online English magazine, Dabiq, ISIS lays out its justification for its brutality against the Yazidis on religious grounds:
“Enslaving the families of the kuffar [unbelievers] and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the Shariah [Islamic law] that if anyone were to deny or mock, he would be denying or mocking the verses of the Qur’an and the narrations of the Prophet.”
But theologians the world over point out that ISIS’s actions have no basis in Islam.
“The people of ISIS don’t represent Islam at all. In fact, if anything, they are anti-Islam,” says London-based Imam Ajmal Masroor. “They have hijacked Islam. They have denigrated Islam. They have desecrated it.”
“In Islam taking anyone as captive, mistreating them using them as sex slaves, torturing them and killing them is totally prohibited.
Yazidi women raped and sold by ISIS
Yazidi women raped and sold by ISIS 03:39
“That’s what God says in the Quran: ‘Those people who lose their capacity to use their brain, their perceptive capacity to see and hear the truth, they are worse than animals.’
“That’s exactly what they have demonstrated. There is no room for any discussion on this. It’s haram [forbidden], it’s anti-Islam and it should be treated as such.”
For Yazidis, the tragedy is so great that their own strict traditions have had to adjust.
‘Hundreds’ of Yazidi women killing themselves in ISIS captivity
Before ISIS attacked Sinjar, marrying outside the Yazidi faith was strictly condemned. Those accused of adultery — and even victims of rape — could be killed for “dishonoring” their family.
But that is changing, according to Baba Sheikh, who desperately wants those abducted by ISIS to return.
“Anyone who comes back will be warmly welcomed home,” he insists. “They should keep their heads up. They have done nothing wrong. And they should not be worried.”
His words are a source of comfort for the tormented; even as ISIS attempts to destroy the Yazidi people in the name of religion, the terror group’s victims may still find solace at home.
Full article here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/08/middleeast/isis-rape-theology-soldiers-rape-women-to-make-them-muslim/index.html
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