We Are Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and Neglect

It is a well established fact (see my series on Dissociative Identity Disorder on this website starting with Dissociative Identity Disorder – Part 1) that survivors of child abuse at times repress memories of their abuse because they are too painful. If the abuse was experienced at a very young age or for an extended period of time, multiple personalities may develop to cope with the grotesque behavior forced upon them as innocent children.

Thankfully, some enlightened legislators who understood how trauma affects children and survivors, crafted the “Delayed Discovery Rule” which was designed to suspend the statutes of limitation (in lawsuits against perpetrators) if the victim had repressed all memory of the abuse or was unaware that the abuse caused current problems.[1] What this means is that the plaintiff making abuse allegations must do so within a certain timeframe (depending upon the state the plaintiff lives in) from the date the plaintiff “discovers” or should have discovered that “psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the abuse.”[2]

While this legislation is a major step forward, it provides a convenient legal escape for a perpetrator to not be punished for abusing children. Since children not only repress memories, they are constantly given the message, “Don’t you open your mouth!” That combination effectively seals the victim’s silence until they feel safe enough to tell someone later in life. The problem is that the State places the onus on child abuse survivors to “feel safe enough” within a certain period of time that the State feels is time enough to “open their mouths” and report the abuse. That is totally ridiculous.

If you are interested in the statute of limitations in your state, go to http://www.smith-lawfirm.com/statutestable.html  and see for yourself what survivors are up against. Why isn’t there a uniform, federal law to apply in this situation? Because family law has traditionally been handled at the State level which makes it convenient for perpetrators – meaning that the law is not uniformally carried out nationwide. When will Congress wake up and address issues such as these?  When we, as survivors, continually call their offices and demand action. Until then, nothing unfortunately will change.

Check out a recent example of what I’m talking about by clicking on http://www.komu.com/satellite/SatelliteRender/KOMU.com/ba8a4513-c0a8-2f11-0063-9bd94c70b769/249f4e9e-80ce-0971-014a-f97da01d70b3. This is exactly why I am bringing this to your attention.

[2] www.cglaw.com/engine/pubs/getdoc.aspx?id=409&dl=1