Child sexual assault survivors in Pennsylvania are on the verge of being denied the opportunity to sue their attackers after a bill to temporarily waive filing deadlines stalled again in the state’s legislature.
asserted
bill → deny → legislature
Democrats have accused the Republican senate majority of playing politics with the bipartisan move to amend the state constitution and open a two-year window for victims to file molestation claims from years ago.
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victims → accuse → claims
Similar measures have passed in a number of other states in recent years, from New York to Louisiana.
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measures → pass → Louisiana
The proposed amendment cleared the Democrat-controlled state house in June.
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amendment → propose → June
But the bill is set to expire at the end of the legislative session on 30 November after Republican senators attempted to tie it to a separate move to expand voter identification requirements, a red line for many chamber Democrats.
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senators → set → Democrats
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, has previously criticized Republicans for derailing the measure, noting in a social media post earlier this year that it passed the state house six times since he took office – but never made it to his desk.
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he → criticize → desk
Democrats have been trying to push through versions of the law since at least 2018 after the exposure of a large-scale child sexual abuse scandal in the state’s Catholic church in which more than 300 “predator priests” were found to have harmed at least 1,000 children.
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priests → try → children
In 2021, “internal systemic failures” by the administration of then governor Tom Wolf denied Pennsylvania voters from being able to crystalize such a law in a statewide referendum.
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failures → deny → referendum
And the measure’s supporters have been frustrated by the failure of politicians to advance it on several occasions since.
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supporters → frustrate → occasions
Under Pennsylvania law, for an amendment to the constitution to take effect, it must pass two consecutive legislative sessions with identical language.
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it → take → language
This year’s measure was not taken up by the state senate.
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measure → take → senate
Mark Rozzi, the former Democratic state house speaker, said he was disappointed by the inability of Pennsylvania senators to advance the move – and also blamed Shapiro for not doing more, as reported by the non-profit investigative news outlet Spotlight PA.
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he → say → outlet
“Victims that are hanging on for this law to pass and victims who haven’t come forward yet, they deserve their day in court,” said Rozzi, a survivor of abuse by a Catholic priest.
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Rozzi → hang → priest
“Whether we can go after the perpetrator or we can go after the institutions that aided and abetted these criminals, eventually they are going to be held accountable.
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they → go → criminals
Eventually, the hammer is coming down on them.”
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hammer → come → them
So-called “lookback windows” allow child victims of sexual assault to later sue their alleged attackers, often years after legal options would normally have expired.
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options → call → attackers
Several states have passed similar measures in recent years, influenced by the global #MeToo social justice movement.
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states → pass → movement
New York’s groundbreaking Adult Survivors Act, which took effect in 2002, sparked more than 2,500 lawsuits and brought down several celebrities, including actor Bill Cosby, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and film producer Harvey Weinstein.
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which → take → Cosby
It came three years after the state’s Child Victims Act extended the statute of limitations for victims and led to settlements such as $800m paid to more than 1,300 people who said they were sexually abused by clergy members and lay leaders of the Catholic archdiocese of New York.
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they → come → York
Republican leaders in Pennsylvania have attempted to blame Democrats for that measure’s most recent passage failure, claiming victims were being harmed by inaction on the voter ID measure.
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victims → attempt → measure
Democratic state senator Maria Collett said the 3 November midterms give voters the opportunity to finally get a lookback window law passed if voters re-elect Shapiro and grant the Democrats control of both state legislative chambers.
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voters → say → chambers
Polling by Politics PA suggests Democrats have a 65% chance to capture the state senate and a 90% chance to retain control of the house.
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Democrats → suggest → house
Shapiro is a near-certainty to win re-election.
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Shapiro → win → election
“Survivors of childhood sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, including in Catholic church cases, have waited years for the legislature to give them a real window to hold their abusers accountable in court,” Collett wrote on Facebook.
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Collett → include → Facebook
“A Democratic trifecta can finally get statute of limitations reform to the governor’s desk.”
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trifecta → get → desk
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