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Letter
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Photos by David Weible
Incest is Biggest Sexual Abuse Problem
by Ervin E. Grant
as found in the Wichita Eagle 2/14/06
Kansas is missing the point. While the Legislature is commendably addressing theproblem of sexual predators and how best to punish them, we are lagging behind other states in recognizing the lifelong devastating effects of sexual abuse of children.Our society does not seem to be aware that 84 percent of sexual perpetrators are family members or trusted authority figures, according to the National Center for Victims of Crime; 1 in 3 females and 1 in 5 males will be sexually abused by the time they are 18.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization have identified violence in the family as a major threat to public health. The cost to society of this violence is enormous; child abuse and neglect costs Kansas about $438 million a year. Of those in prison today, 85 percent were victims of child abuse, according to Voices in Action, Inc.
Kansas has a long legislative history of looking the other way when the word "incest" is used. Past Legislators have seemed to consider sexual assault a legal matter if it occurs outside the home, but a family matter if it occurs in the home. This is demonstrated by the severe penalty set by the Legislature for the crime of rape (level 2) but the relatively lesser penalty for the crime of incest (level 7 to 10). There is no incest statute for a child under 16, yet statistics show that in the United States, 32 percent of forcible rapes are committed on children between the ages of 11 and 17, according to Connecticut Sexual Assault Crime Services.
This same attitude appears when we consider various legal statutes of limitations (time limitations on bringing civil actions). If a person is a minor when a right to pursue a property claim accrues, Kansas law allows that person 23 years to file an action. But only three years are allowed if the claimant suffers from the results of childhood sexual abuse.
It would seem that society is saying that we are more concerned with property rights than with injuries to children. By contrast, Connecticut allows 30 years, Oklahoma allows 20 years, Illinois 10 years and Nebraska has no statute of limitations for child abuse cases.
Kansas needs to make changes in the civil statute of limitations as well as the sexual predator laws. All perpetrators need to pay for their actions.
Ervin E. Grant of El Dorado, an attorney and former state lawmaker,
is a member of the alliance to recognize and End Abuse.
updated 12/01/08
