Welcome to the National Center for Victims of Crime

We are the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims and those who serve them. Please join us as we forge a national commitment to help victims of crime rebuild their lives.


           

Add your name to a list of supporters for the Child Victim Act!

Click HERE to join thousands of concerned citizens ensuring justice does not expire!



I am a Survivor

If you are a survivor of Child Sex Abuse and are willing to share your story with advocates, legislators, committees, or media, please let us know. 

All responses are strictly confidential and can include only the information you feel comfortable sharing.

To proceed, click HERE


Child Victims Act in California


Not all silence is golden. Child Victims Act

 

 

Sign the Petition to Support the Child Victims Act

Become a part of the national movement to protect children and hold abusers and those who harbor them accountable. 

This One Minute petition will help victims of child sexual abuse of all ages.


Police officer with small boy. Child Victims ACt Awareness Poster

Authors:

Senator Jim Beall (Democrat) District: 15


Key Legislators to Contact:

California Senate Judiciary Committee

California Senate Appropriations Committee



Where is this Bill?

Senate Bill 131: Track this bill

Read the Child Victims Act


Key States Currently Considering the Child Victim Act

For more information on reforming statutes of limitation for child sex abuse and efforts in other states, please visit one of our advocacy partners at www.SOL-Reform.com


   
Vote Smart
  • Find contact information for your elected representatives and let them know you support the Child Victim Act!
  • Track your elected official's record.

Need Help?

If you are victim or adult survivor seeking assistance, please refer to our Connect Directory for a full listing of organizations that can provide help. 


The Problem

The sexual abuse of children is a public health epidemic in the United States. Recent child sex abuse cases at Penn State University, the release of documents concerning sexual abuse and the Boy Scouts and consistent reports of abuse within California institutions such as Miramonte Elementary School are recent examples.

Research has shown that as many as one in four women and one in five men suffered abuse as a child and that almost 90% of abuse never gets reported.  Those that do come forward find themselves barred by the legal technicality of a statute of limitation. Considering how long victims often take to find the courage to speak out, statutes of limitation are woefully short and act as an arbitrary barrier to justice.



News Coverage of the California Child Victims Act


All news

Reauthorized Violence Against Women Act Renews Support for Stalking and Sexual Violence Victims


For Immediate Release

February 28, 2013
Contact: Kath Cummins

              202-590-0837
              kcummins@ncvc.org

WASHINGTON, DC--- The National Center for Victims of Crime applauds the House of Representatives for its bipartisan reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, sending the bill to the President for his signature. We thank President Obama and Vice President Biden for championing the rights of all victims.

Among the  landmark extensions to the Act, this reauthorization explicitly requires that stalking be addressed by colleges and universities. Campus authorities must record and report instances of stalking, establish policies on responding to stalking, and provide education and prevention programming on stalking.

“Over 6 million people are stalked each year in the United States,” said Mai Fernandez, executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. “Stalking is a serious crime, and one that is often the precursor to other serious crimes such as sexual assault and homicide.” The National Center for Victims of Crime is the home of the Stalking Resource Center, which works to enhance the recognition of and response to stalking across the country.

The reauthorized VAWA will also strengthen programs that address sexual assault, domestic and dating violence—including provisions that prohibit discrimination against LGBT victims in the provision of victim support, give tribal authorities the means to hold offenders accountable, and extend protections to undocumented immigrants who are victims of violent crime.

The new legislation also provides increased support for sexual assault services and rape prevention and education programs, and for reducing the backlog of untested sexual assault kits. It also creates the first specific federal protections for sexual assault victims in public housing.

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  The National Center for Victims of Crime, established in 1985, is the nation's leading resource and advocacy organization for crime victims and those who serve them. For more than 25 years, the National Center has led this nation's struggle to provide crime victims with the rights, protections, and services they need to rebuild their lives. Visit www.victimsofcrime.org for more information. 

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