SB 1053: Helping child sexual abuse victims achieve justice

The passage of Senate Bill 1053 is viewed as a tremendous achievement by many child advocate organizations who applaud California for recognizing how much of a traumatic impact sex abuse can be on children. The bill was passed as a clarification of the Legislature's intent to exempt child sexual abuse victims from the six-month claims process for public entities. The law addresses child sexual assault in the public sector and provides clarity concerning civil actions against abusers and those institutions who protect abusers. Many have sought the clarification that now explicitly marks the legislation.

SB 1053 was passed directly in response to Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court (2018). In that case the 5th District Court of Appeal held that local school districts could enact claim presentation rules requiring claims of child sexual abuse be filed with the local district within six months. Lawyers throughout California then lobbied the Legislature for the passage of SB 1053.

Previously, SB 640, a 2008 bill, had required victims of sexual abuse committed by employees of schools or other public entities to file a written notice within six months of the incident. SB 640 exempted child victims of sexual abuse due to the fact that victims can take years to come forward and speak about their abuse. Despite the passing of this bill, some school districts continued to challenge the law by requiring abuse victims to file a claim within a six-month period. This can be very difficult for victims who have suffered because of the emotional and physical trauma they have encountered. Often times, victims prefer not to talk about it, and they might not inform adults right away. In fact, it could take many years for the person to come to terms that they had been abused even sometimes into adulthood.

Unfortunately, stories of children being sexually abused continue making headlines. School districts have been caught trying to protect their employees, as seen in sex abuse cases in school districts across the state. It's clear that this problem of covering up for serial sexual predators will continue unless victims are given the ability to seek recourse for those that enabled this conduct. No child should be silenced because they couldn't speak up within an imposed six-month timeframe. Schools chose to ignore the red flags and protect predators instead of doing the right thing and protect their students. With the passing of SB 1053, we're sure that California is headed in the right direction when it comes to helping our children achieve the justice they deserve.