April 5, 2013

Bill will eliminate state’s archaic statutes of limitations for felony child sex crimes, which now protect abusers and those who hide them

For the first time in Oregon history, large numbers of adult survivors of child sex abuse will step out of the shadows in support of bill which will protect children

Portland, OR – The years-long campaign to reform the archaic statutes of limitations for childhood sex abuse crimes in Oregon is intensifying in 2013.

The Oregon House Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on the subject in the State Capitol on Monday, April 8, at 1:00 P.M., to discuss HB 3284, a bill presented by the House Judiciary Committee itself.

Prior to the hearing, a large number of adult survivors of child sex abuse will rally on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol from 11:15 A.M. to 12:15 P.M., in support of HB 3284, which will eliminate the criminal statutes of limitations for the following crimes against minors by adults: first-degree sex abuse, first-degree sodomy, first-degree unlawful penetration, incest, and first-degree rape.

Oregon, usually thought of as a progressive state, is coming late to this party.  Thirty-three other states already have eliminated criminal statute of limitations for these crimes and others against children.  Attempts to pass a similar bill in Oregon in 2011 were unsuccessful.

Speakers will include Rep. Jeff Barker, chair of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Brent Barton; writer, activist and adult survivor Randy Ellison; journalist and adult survivor Margie Boule, and others.

Nationwide headlines over the past 18 months are a graphic illustration of why current law in Oregon is inadequate to protect children from predators.  Incidents of past child sex abuse, most of which could not have been prosecuted in Oregon, include cases involving the Boy Scouts of America, the Catholic Church, Penn State and Syracuse Universities, the BBC, Horace Mann School and Yeshiva University High School.

Rally participants who are willing to share their identities and personal stories with the media will carry picket signs rimmed in green.  Those who are not ready to share their stories or their names will carry red-rimmed signs.  Nearly all marchers will carry green signs.

In the U.S., one out of four girls and one out of six boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18.  Victims typically have great difficulty coming to grips with crimes done to them, and keep the secret of their abuse for decades.  They often are psychologically unable to speak out until after Oregon’s statute of limitations has expired, making it impossible to prosecute their abusers.  Pedophiles can continue to abuse children for decades; serial child sex abusers offend as many as 400 times in their lifetime. Eliminating the statutes of limitations for these crimes will take more pedophiles off the streets, warn more families that abusers are nearby, and protect more Oregon children.

For information about the rally, for more statistics, for names and contact information of Oregon experts on the effects of child sex abuse, contact:

Kristi Kernal

OAASIS (Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service)

503-522-9463 cell

503-274-1179 OAASIS

Kristi@oaasisoregon.org

Web site:  oaasisoregon.org

For information about HB 3284, contact:

Randy Ellison

Board chair, OAASIS

541-292-9570 cell

 OAASIS    PO Box 2161  Portland OR  97208    503.274.1179

Sex Abuse in the First Degree, Sodomy in the First Degree, Child Sex Abuse in the First Degree, Unlawful Sexual Penetration in the First Degree, and Incest.

This bill is being presented by the Oregon House Judiciary Committee at the request of OAASIS. Please support this needed change by contacting first a member of the House Judiciary Committee and then your own Representative that can be found at http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/.  Tell them how important this is to you and ask them to support the bill. It is time to open the doors of justice to victims of Child Sex Abuse and hold offenders accountable.  BE POLITE, please! 

And then please cut and paste this email and share it widely. We have a good shot here if everybody pitches in. Next comes a hearing later in April. 

Jeff Barker Chair
     503-986-1428                   Rep.JeffBarker@state.or.us

Chris Garrett, Vice-Chair
   503-986-1438         Rep.ChrisGarrett@state.or.us

Wayne Krieger, Vice-Chair
      503-986-1401   Rep.WayneKrieger@state.or.us

Brent Barton
            503-986-1440                    Rep.BrentBarton@state.or.us

Kevin Cameron
       503-986-1419                    Rep.KevinCameron@state.or.us

Wally Hicks
       503-986-1403                         Rep.WallyHicks@state.or.us

Andy Olson
          503-986-1415                       rep.andyolson@state.or.us

Carolyn Tomei
         503-986-1441                   tomei.rep@state.or.us

Jennifer Williamson      503-986-1436             Rep.JenniferWilliamson@state.or.us

Thank you!

Klarissa Oh, Executive Director

November 23, 2012

Portland, OR—Today, Klarissa Oh was named by the NoVo Foundation as one of 20 new leaders selected to join its groundbreaking Move to End Violence program, a 10-year, $80 million program to strengthen leaders and organizations, and build a breakthrough movement to end violence against girls and women in the United States.

“These leaders have shown incredible vision and courage in their day-to-day work, confronting violence, abuse, rape and trafficking of women and girls in their communities,” said Jennifer Buffett, President and Co-Chair of the NoVo Foundation. “The Move to End Violence program is an effort to honor their bold leadership and harness their potential to create the change needed so that girls and women can live free of violence.”

Leaders selected for the program participate in an intensive, two-year experience that includes time for essential, big-picture conversations; the opportunity to sharpen their vision and develop a strategy to get there; skills-building sessions to advance social change and advocacy skills; and a strong emphasis on self-care and empowerment. Leaders’ organizations also receive general support grants and technical assistance to advance organizational development.

“We are working to make Oregon a safer and more life-affirming state where children are protected and survivors of child sexual abuse are supported.  Being a part of the Move to End Violence cohort will enable us to do this critical work with deeper thoughtfulness, greater efficacy, more cutting edge strategy, and with national powerhouse partners.  Oregon is fortunate to be one of the states that directly benefits from NoVo’s brilliant vision and significant investment, and OAASIS could not be more honored,” reports Klarissa.

OAASIS, Oregon Abuse Advocates and Survivors in Service, is an activist group of child sexual abuse survivors and allies in Oregon with a commitment to protect children from sexual abuse and to empower survivors of child sexual abuse through public awareness, education, and advocacy work. They promote the role of survivors in shaping cultural understanding and public policy around child sexual abuse in order to address the startling reality that one out of four girls and one out of six boys is sexually abused by his/her eighteenth birthday.

Over ten years, the Move to End Violence program will connect and strengthen hundreds of advocates and organizations, investing in a national network of committed leaders with the vision, skills and renewed energy necessary to reinvigorate efforts to end violence against girls and women. The NoVo Foundation will also consider funding a select number of collaborative campaigns that will be designed by program participants, chosen for promising potential to create meaningful change.

“We are delighted to name Klarissa and OAASIS as partners in this effort,” said Jackie Payne, Move to End Violence director. “We look forward to supporting her and the other ‘Movement Makers’ as they develop bold new strategies to confront violence and create lasting change for women and girls.”

More information on the Move to End Violence program is available at www.movetoendviolence.org.

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NCVLI_50-state-survey_criminal SOLs for child sexual assault

Reprinted and/or reproduced with permission of the National Crime Victim Law Institute (NCVLI), all rights reserved.   NCVLI actively promotes balance and fairness in the justice system through crime victim centered legal advocacy, education, and resource sharing.  To view NCVLI’s library of crime victims’ rights publications, please visit www.ncvli.org.

Six posters of missing children from the metro area — five girls and one boy — were tacked to the wall of the Jantzen Beach hotel banquet room, a silent reminder of why more than 500 participants from 10 states had gathered Saturday.

One of three missing teens who ends up on the streets will be lured or forced into prostitution within 48 hours, according to national estimates. The annual Northwest Conference Against Human Trafficking hoped to bring a sense of urgency to the problem and capitalize on a recent local and national push to fight domestic human trafficking.

Oregon, advocates and law enforcement officials say, is a growing hub for forced prostitution and servitude. Just last week, a Portland man was arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on suspicion of prostituting a 14-year-old relative.

Still, many Americans believe human trafficking to be an international phenomenon.

“I, like so many others, thought that trafficking was a problem that plagued other countries like Thailand and India, but was oblivious to what was happening right here in our backyard,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel, who is spearheading the county’s efforts to combat human trafficking and open a shelter for sexual trafficking victims.

Portland has become a center for human trafficking for several reasons, said Keith Bickford, a Multnomah County sheriff’s detective who heads the Oregon Human Trafficking Task Force.

The city’s proximity to Interstates 5 and 84 as well as two rivers is attractive to traffickers, as is lax sexual trafficking enforcement laws, a legal sex industry, a large population of street kids and Oregon’s dependence on seasonal farmworkers, Bickford said.

Yet, the state keeps no data on victims of sexual trafficking, Bickford said, making it difficult to accurately assess the depth of the problem and get adequate resources.

About 300,000 American youths are trafficked for sexual exploitation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. During a one-night national sting involving 29 cities last February, law enforcement officers picked up seven underage girls involved in prostitution in Portland — more than any other city besides Seattle. They also picked up six adult pimps in Portland and cited 14 adult prostitutes.

Still, many at the conference said a collective national denial of the issue remains.

“What we’re about in the U.S., we’re willing to jump out there and save the world but we won’t look under our own rocks because it’s embarrassing,” Bickford said after giving a presentation on the work he’s doing with the task force.

Multnomah County has hundreds of human trafficking cases involving both people born in the United States and immigrants often brought or coerced here from other countries. His caseload is divided equally between those trafficked for sexual exploitation (mostly people from the U.S.) and those trafficked for labor (mostly immigrants), he said.

Other speakers at the conference said public officials are starting to take notice of the long-hidden crime.

Last month, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced a bill along with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to help victims of sexual trafficking and provide more enforcement power against traffickers. The bill would fund pilot projects in six states to establish shelters for victims and provide counseling, legal aid, education and job training, as well as fund additional police officers and prosecutors.

“I want to see us start a national mobilization,” Wyden said after giving a brief speech about his bill. “It’s fair to say that in the past there’s been the sense that Oregon is not the kind of place you would see this. There’s no denial now and people are ready to go.”

A shelter to help victims escape exploitation is the greatest need in Portland, said Esther Nelson of the Sexual Assault Resource Center. The lack of a safe place makes it difficult to help people, she said, and impedes law enforcement efforts because victims often disappear.

Multnomah County and Portland officials have committed to finding money to open a shelter here, though they have no time line.

“We can’t do much more without a shelter,” Nelson said.

Throughout the year, ywca clark county offers a variety of events and workshops that provide opportunities to support your community.
Our events provide educational, awareness and fundraising opportunities. Program specific workshops engage the community and focus on education and advocacy. Learn more about our workshops at individual program pages or by viewing them on our calendar.

Benefit Luncheon – September 7, 2011

The ywca annual benefit luncheon is a popular event that spotlights our programs and mission, showcases powerful testimony, and engages our community on a deeper level.

Join us Wednesday, September 7th at the Hilton Vancouver and listen to inspirational speaker and author Erin Merryn as she shares her personal story of survival and triumph and provides enlightening perspectives on keeping children safer. Seats are $40 per person or $400 for a table of 10. Click here to register online!

Presenting sponsors

Table hosts support ywca by inviting 9 guests to join them at a table during the luncheon. Table hosts receive a book authored by the speaker and a table identified in the name of their choosing. If you’re interested in being a table host, please contact us at luncheon@ywcaclarkcounty.org or by calling 360 906 9153.

Erin is the author of Stolen Innocence and Living for Today. A leading participant in Take Back the Night, her goal is to raise awareness of abuse in order to end the stigma of silence. Since 2004, she has been speaking at national conferences, community events, children’s advocacy centers, colleges, and high schools. Erin has been instrumental in getting Erin’s Law passed, which requires school boards to adopt age appropriate curriculum on sexual abuse education for students pre-k through 5th grade. Erin efforts have not gone unnoticed. She’s been featured in a variety of media, including Time Magazine, the Chicago Tribune and on Oprah. Visit Erin’s website at www.erinmerryn.net.

Thank you to the following sponsors, who’ve made this year’s event possible: ADCO Commercial Printing and Graphics, Columbia Credit Union, The Columbian, Corwin Beverage Company, Home Instead Senior Care, IQ Credit Union, Lee & Connie Kearney, Miller Nash, LLP, Providence Health and Services, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, Tidewater Barge Lines, US Bancorp, Vancouver Business Journal, The Vancouver Clinic

For additional information on the 2011 Benefit Luncheon e-mail luncheon@ywcaclarkcounty.org or call 360 906 9153.

August 07, 2011
By Sanne Specht
Mail Tribune

Local experts played a key role in rewriting a bill introduced by State Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, which originally was viewed with alarm by those who work to protect children.

The bill, recently signed into law and designed to discourage punitive or vindictive reporting of child abuse, underwent significant changes as it made its way to the governor’s desk. The changes were necessary to protect children and to assure the public that reporting suspected abuse is not only the right thing to do, it is safe for them to do so, experts say.

“This bill started out as a major disaster and a blow to child victims. But it has been reduced and narrowed to a much less harmful form,” said Ashland resident Randy Ellison, an adult survivor of child sexual abuse and board president of Oregon Advocates and Survivors in Service.

House Bill 2183, which was signed into law by Gov. John Kitzhaber in July, makes it a violation — punishable by a $720 maximum fine — to knowingly make false allegations of child abuse to police or the Department of Human Services. The state must prove that the intent of the false report is to influence child custody, visitation or child support, Ellison said.

One of the bill’s main targets was adults who use malicious allegations of abuse in bitter divorce or child custody cases, said Esquivel.

“People getting divorced can make ugly accusations,” Esquivel said. “It happens more often than you might think.”

When Esquivel and House Judiciary Co-chairman Wayne Kreiger, R-Gold Beach, initially presented their bill before the House, the proposed fine was $6,250 and the violator faced a misdemeanor criminal charge which could have resulted in jail time.

The changes are a relief to child abuse experts who said Esquivel’s bill, as written, would have had a chilling effect on a crime that is already under-reported.

Ellison testified in Salem against the proposed legislation, along with representatives from the Oregon District Attorneys Association, the Oregon Network of Child Abuse Intervention Centers, the Oregon School Employees Association, Children First and the Child Advocacy Section of the Oregon Department of Justice.

Ellison said he remains concerned the new law will be misinterpreted by the public, which could have a quelling effect on everyone from teachers to neighbors to relatives who might suspect child abuse, and be afraid to report due to misunderstandings.

The law does not punish those who might make a false reports based on honest mistakes. Only those that are due to malicious intent, Esquivel said. It was never his intent to limit reporting of actual child abuse, or cause consternation amongst child welfare experts. He also does not oppose the changes that were made to his bill, Esquivel said.

Ellison said holding people accountable for false reports is appropriate. But there was already a law on the books that made it a crime to knowingly make a false report of any crime to the police or other agency. ORS 162.375 states that initiating a false report is a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,250 fine and 30 days in jail. Ellison questions the need for a new law that “pulls out that one type of false reporting and makes it a violation,” he said.

“They wanted to call attention to it,” Ellison said, adding he remains concerned about the potential fallout for mothers trying to protect their children from an abusive father.

“Basically this is a bill designed to protect husbands in divorce cases,” Ellison said. “This is a bill written by men for men.”

There could be unintended consequence of keeping children trapped in abusive situations because adults are fearful of making a report that, while true, might not be able to be proven, he said.

“If a woman is out and away from an abuser, it may be the first time ever she feels safe to report (her partner committed child abuse),” Ellison said. Esquivel’s bill had the support of at least one Oregon senator. According to news reports, Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, testified he was once the victim of a trumped-up claim of child abuse.

Ellison said he had sympathy and empathy for anyone victimized because of a false report of abuse. But statistics show child abuse is the most under-reported crime next to domestic abuse, he said.

People should not be worrying about being wrong when deciding to report or not, Ellison said. People need to report suspected abuse. If people are in doubt, they should err on the side of reporting, he said.

Esquivel said he encourages people to report child abuse.

“You won’t get in trouble unless you have malicious intent,” Esquivel said.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or email sspecht@mailtribune.com.

Just when it seemed we were starting to “get it” on child sexual abuse, along comes a court trial that reminds us just how far we have to go. Last week in Jackson County, Circuit Judge Tim Barnack allowed a 10-year-old child to be revictimized.

First, the girl was repeatedly characterized as precocious and attention-starved. I have two granddaughters and I would describe both of them as precocious and they definitely seek adult attention. “Watch this, papa.” “Will you play with me, papa?” It takes a pretty sick mind to view this normal child behavior as an opening for sexual advance, much less use it as a defense in a court of law.

This next part is so unbelievable as to defy reason. Judge Tim Barnack allowed the bed the girl has stated she was abused on to be brought into court, and she is told to stand beside it and show what happened to her.

WHAT? I really want someone to say this didn’t really happen in Medford, Ore. But it did. The judge, the prosecutor, the defense attorney and observers all sat and watched a 10-year-old girl, holding her doll, stand next to the mattress as the defense attorney re-enacted her abuse in open court. Then the defense attorney described the 10-year-old child’s overt trauma as an “act” and says she has never been traumatized by anything in this case. Somebody needs to check this man for a pulse! This is far worse than reality TV; at least they have censors.

Is this really the standard we want for dealing with accusations of child abuse? When a child gets the strength to come forward and report alleged sexual abuse should they have to suffer having their character attacked and be made to publicly re-enact the abuse? I sincerely hope not. The system failed this little girl. You and I failed this little girl.

In the last decade we have finally woken up to the extent of sexual abuse and exploitation of our children and are doing something about it. Now it’s time to bring our legal system in line with our values. If we consider it morally wrong for adults to sexually abuse children, then why would it be OK for our courts to do so?

It happened once, shame on Judge Barnack and his court. If we allow it to happen again, then shame on us. This is our community and our court system. It should reflect our values and morals. If we don’t want our children to be revictimized after reporting abuse, then we, you and I, need to speak up with our voice and vote to see that it doesn’t happen again. Our judges are elected. In theory they enforce our laws, but they also have discretion. Let’s elect judges that use that discretion wisely.

Our laws are made by the state Legislature and enforced by our attorney general. We can contact Sen. Alan Bates and Attorney General John Kroger to make sure this is not allowed in the future and ask them to make sure it isn’t.

With 20 percent of our children suffering sexual abuse, we know we have done a lousy job of protecting them. Now that we are beginning to understand that fact and the impact of abuse, let’s take the next step. Let’s open our ears and hearts to the suffering these child victims are enduring and do what we can to ease their pain and the difficulty of reporting the abuse.

I know we can do better. For the sake of our children we must do better.