HB 2827 Goes Into Effect

By Randy Ellison
Guest Columnist for the Attorney General’s Sexual Abuse Task Force

It all started when a mother walked into the office of Rep. Andy Olson. She was frustrated and angry over her daughters’ inability to seek justice for her sexual abuse as a child because the statute of limitations ran out before she even told anyone it had happened.  Rep. Olson was so moved that he gathered the forces and wrote HB 2827. Not satisfied to quit there, the mother drove to Ashland and walked from one end of Oregon to the other. She wore a bright yellow t-shirt lettered in black that said “Stop Sexual Abuse of Children”. Truckers honked. People stopped to talk to her. Newspapers and TV news interviewed her along the way. It took her a month and she did it all wearing a wig and using the alias Joan. She wanted her daughter to be able to remain anonymous and was afraid of reprisal by the perpetrator.

This woman’s courage brought other victims forward to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Their personal stories of tragedy overshadowed the institutional objections to an extended period of liability. The final impetus that pushed this bill over the top came on the floor of the Senate where Senator Vickie Walker gave a courageous and impassioned speech describing her personal experience with child sex abuse.

The law changes the civil statute of limitations for action based on conduct that constitutes child abuse or conduct knowingly allowing, permitting or encouraging child abuse. Additionally, the bill requires that an action must be started before the victim attains 40 years of age, or not more than 5 years from the date the claimant discovered, or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have discovered a connection between the child abuse and injury, whichever period is longer.

These extensions in the statute of limitations provide an avenue for victims to seek justice after coming to terms with their abuse, which commonly happens later in life. Many of the victims and friends that gathered to help pass this bill have joined together to form a new non-profit called Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service, OAASIS (www.oaasisoregon.org). They hope to help survivors, increase public awareness and advocate for stronger public policies and laws aimed at preventing child sexual abuse and protecting victims’ rights.

Reverend Martin Luther King refers to the “community largely adjusted to the status quo, standing as a taillight behind others rather than a headlight leading (us) to higher levels of justice. Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or the extension of justice?” Thank you to the members of our State Legislature who moved this bill, especially Rep. Olson, the victims that spoke their truth, and most of all to the mother “Joan” for showing us how to be extremists for justice and becoming headlights.

Randy Ellison is a survivor from Ashland, who is starting a new career as a victim’s advocate.  One of his new roles is as director of the Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service (OAASIS) PAC.  He can be reached at hrellison@ashlandnet.net.  For more information about OAASIS visit their website at http://oaasisoregon.org/