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What it was like to have gone through the system and come out the other side? What are my concerns about what we will see on the “other side” of the Corona pandemic?
I write this blog post today to share part of my firsthand experience of what my children and I went through in three states, how I overcame it, and my concerns for what may be in store after the pandemic for children. I am a mother of three children. Two of my children were “allegedly” abused by...
Unintended Consequences for Children of the COVID Shut Down
At first it is perplexing that child maltreatment rates are now down dramatically across the nation, in some states by as much as fifty percent. Puzzlement gives way to sickening fear when one realizes the reason is that the most common sources of maltreatment reports are schools and doctors’...
CHILD USA’s Pro Bono Amicus Advocacy Project: Taking on Cutting Edge Child Abuse and Neglect Legal Issues
Legal Department Prof. Marci Hamilton Alice Hanan, SOL Staff Attorney Jessica Schidlow, Staff Attorney Alice Bohn, CHILD USA Legal Fellow One of CHILD USA’s initiatives you may not know about is our Pro Bono Amicus Advocacy Project. Attorneys Alice Bohn and Jessica Schidlow, and Alice Hanan, when...
Hollywood Is Letting the #MeToo Movement Become #NotMe Harassment: Time’s Up for Celebrities Attacking Their Own Victims
So many good people in Hollywood worked together to catapult the “#MeToo” and “Times Up” movements to global value. Thank you. We do, however, have a small, well, large, problem with follow-up. The entertainment industry is turning out to be a true nightmare for those who name their perpetrators,...
The Coronavirus Pandemic wreaks havoc on survivors seeking justice under the CVA but it will be worse for survivors who have not yet come forward unless the CVA is extended.
I represent over 500 survivors who were sexually abused as children in New York and are seeking a measure of justice under the New York Child Victims Act. Many survivors fall into the vulnerable category of potential victims in the pandemic and wonder whether they will ever see justice in their...
COVID-19’s Deleterious Effect on Child Sex Abuse Survivors and the Critical Need to Pass a One-Year Extension of New York’s Child Victims Act
There is a group of victims in New York State that needs help as a result of the COVID-19 virus - but not in the way you may think. I’m talking about childhood sexual abuse survivors, many of whom, before the outbreak, were in the process of coming to grips with what happened to them and pursuing...
SOL Summary in Our New Normal
Most state legislative bodies convene their sessions between early January to mid- February and wrap up their lawmaking 5 to 6 months later. During that time they pass hundreds of bills. Well, not in this new science-fiction-like world in which we find ourselves. Unfortunately, this year most...
A Call to Action: Children Are at Heightened Risk of Abuse During the COVID-19 Crisis
I understand that everyone is stressed out. For those who had been daydreaming about “working from home” while sitting in their offices two weeks ago, the shift to actually working full-time from home is, well, disconcerting. And I also understand that right now cute kitten and puppy dog...
Coronavirus, Children, and the Common Good
If nothing else has been learned in the last twenty years from the child sex abuse scandals, it is that adults tend to prefer and protect their own interests and treat harm to children as collateral damage. Again and again we see powerful adults choose image, power, and money over defenseless...