When I first started law school in 2023, taking a bankruptcy course was at the top of my list. But it wasn’t because I wanted to be a bankruptcy lawyer; instead, knowing that I wanted to represent survivors, many mentors said that they did not know the first thing about bankruptcy, but that if they could do law school over again, they would have taken that doctrinal class. The trend was clear: so many defendants were trying to file for bankruptcy to escape accountability.
In part two of this series, we examined what happens to children who testify about sexual abuse, including nightmares, behavioral changes, and long-lasting harm. Now, we must ask why. Why does a process designed to deliver justice often cause more harm? The answer lies in two places: inside the child’s brain and within the structure of the legal system. When these two areas interact, the damage is not accidental; it’s built in.
What really happens to children who testify about sexual abuse?
and what the research says we must do differently
This piece examines that evidence in three parts: what retraumatization in the courtroom looks like and what it costs; why it happens, from the neuroscience of traumatic memory to the structural features of adversarial legal proceedings; and what we already know how to do differently because the research that documents the problem also clearly points toward solutions.
The evidence is clear, but the real question is whether we are willing to act on it.
John Doe, et al. v. X Corp., fka Twitter, Inc.
Grooming can be defined by examining it through three social-ecological levels: micro, meso, and macro. Each level can either make grooming easier or much more difficult.
Our Social Science Director, Dr. Suruchi Sood, Outlines the Facts of CSAM
CHILD USA wrote this amicus brief in support of Plaintiff-Appellant arguing that blanket governmental immunity is inconsistent with the legislative intent in passing New York's Child Victims Act. [pdf-embedder...
CHILD USA, together with Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Pine Tree Legal Assistance, Inc. filed this amicus brief in support of Plaintiff-Appellee arguing that the Court should uphold the constitutionality of Maine's revival window provision for victims of...
CHILD USA submitted this amicus brief in support of Plaintiff-Appellant arguing that student-on-student sexual harassment is actionable under Michigan's Elliot-Larson Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) and that a constructive knowledge standard should apply and under which the...
In this amicus brief, CHILD USA argues that The Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act comports with Arkansas' Due Process Clause and is consistent with the national trend to permit revival of previously time-barred claims. [pdf_embed...
