Access to the Civil Court System for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Georgia: Observations and Recommendations from the Clinical Legal Education Experience
Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Georgia
Abstract
With the closing of the HPA’s open window on June 30, 2017,5
the CEASE Clinic actively follows legislative efforts in the state of
Georgia to improve access to the courts for survivors of child sexual
abuse. Although the scope of the problem is broad, access to the civil
justice system remains narrow for survivors and further
improvements should be made to Georgia’s civil statute of
limitations. Section II of this Article discusses the scope of the issue
of child sexual abuse, including its prevalence, effects on survivors,
repressed memory and delayed discovery, and financial
consequences. Section III discusses the history of the statute of
limitations in the state of Georgia for civil claims arising out of acts
of child sexual abuse. Section IV explores the impact of the HPA in
Georgia courts as well as opposition to proposed legislative changes
and going forward, such as constitutional challenges and concerns
over the floodgates of litigation. Finally, Section V will discuss the
possibility of new legislation by looking at model statutes enacted
in other states. Section VI concludes.
Description
item.page.type
Article
item.page.format
Keywords
child abuse, research, CIVIL COURT, law, statute, statute of limitations
Citation
Emma M. Hetherington and Michael Nunnally, Access to the Civil Court System for Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse in Georgia: Observations and Recommendations from the Clinical Legal Education Experience , 53 Ga. L. Rev. Online 35 (2019), Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/fac_artchop/1302