How limitation periods harm survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Most cases of sexual abuse of children are never disclosed let alone reported to the authorities. This silence is made worse when the very laws intended to hold perpetrators to account prevent survivors from seeking justice. Time limits on bringing legal action do exactly this. So how are States dealing with limitation periods in the face of systemic child sexual abuse within their own borders?

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Réparer un tort politique — le droit de vote pour les enfants

Children enjoy a vast array of rights, but there’s one set that’s conspicuous by its absence: political rights. Best represented by the right to vote, political rights are a defining characteristic of any democracy, and one of their key purposes is to give voice to all citizens, including those who might otherwise not be heard.

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Righting a political wrong — children’s right to vote

Children enjoy a vast array of rights, but there’s one set that’s conspicuous by its absence: political rights. Best represented by the right to vote, political rights are a defining characteristic of any democracy, and one of their key purposes is to give voice to all citizens, including those who might otherwise not be heard.

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Discrimination overruled in Austria’s age of consent laws

An activist lawyer working to advance LGBT rights in Austria brought a series of cases to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to eliminate discriminatory differences in the age sexual of consent for gay and heterosexual couples. After more than a decade of litigation, the offending article of the Penal Code was repealed, paving the way for further advances for LGBT people’s rights in the country.

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Triggering a public inquiry into historic abuse in state care — the New Zealand story

For the last twenty years, care leavers, Maori and disability groups in New Zealand have been calling for an independent investigation into the root causes of systemic failings in the country’s care system. Notoriously unwilling to conduct a public inquiry into abuse in children’s institutions, New Zealand’s government finally conceded in February 2018, announcing the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care.

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