On Wednesday afternoon, the Chamber of Deputies approved stricter legislation against sexual abuse of minors. The statute of limitations was one aspect targeted by the new bill, which will see the period of time extended to 30 years after a victim’s majority, i.e reaching the age of 18.
As it currently stands, victims cannot report cases of childhood sexual abuse if more than ten years have passed since their 18th birthday, as the case becomes time-barred and the perpetrator cannot be held accountable due to law. The new bill will not only extend this period of time, but will also waive the statute of limitations entirely in the case of serious sexual crimes, such as child rape.
The Brave-Movement and CHILD Global organisations, which seek to end sexual violence against children and protect the rights of minors, have criticised the entire concept of the statute of limitations in cases of child abuse entirely. A report titled “Justice Unleashed: Ending limitations, protecting children” outlines how different countries apply the statute of limitations to sexual abuse of minors.
Belgium, Great Britain and Denmark rank highly, among others, for having no statute of limitations on most offences against children. In Germany and France, victims are able to report cases of childhood abuse up until the age of 40 in order to bring their abuser to justice. In Portugal and Finland, however, the statute of limitations applies to the date of the abuse, rather than the victim’s age.
The two organisations demand that the statute of limitations be abolished for all criminal acts relating to sexual violence and sexual abuse of children. They cite the fact that many young victims are so severely traumatised by abuse at an early age, that they often cannot speak about their abuse until many years later. In many cases, the organisations say they have seen victims only come forward with their stories from the age of 50 onwards, and in many countries, this would leave it too late to take action against the perpetrators.
