TOPEKA — Armed with beaded bracelets and signs, a coalition of sexual abuse survivors returned Wednesday to the Statehouse to push for changes in state law that would allow them to file civil lawsuits at any age.
Survivors Kim Bergman and Tess Ramirez posted at a table in the front entrance of the Capitol, pointing to younger images of themselves juxtaposed with their abuser as they argued for more accountability measures.
Bergman said some lawmakers thought the issue had been taken care of in the last legislative session.
“If you already voted for it, thinking that you did it all, we might as well just finish it up and get it done this year,” Bergman said.
Their group, which has been advocating for changes for more than five years, worked with lawmakers last legislative session on a law that removed the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution. The law also expanded the timeframe for filing civil cases, raising the age from 21 to 31.
Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, helped lead the charge in convincing her colleagues to consider the new law, and the bill was taken up near the end of the session after weeks of advocacy by survivors. The survivors are now hoping to do away with the statute of limitations for civil cases entirely, especially since the average age for a survivor of childhood sexual assault to report the crime is 52.
“We were finally given a hearing at the very very end of the session,” Bergman said. “We started coming out here up to three times a week by the end. We’re hoping that it doesn’t have to get to that point this year.”
The two described their advocacy work as exhausting but crucial. Ramirez has to factor in her work schedule and Bergman has to make sure child care arrangements are in place before heading to the Statehouse.
“We’re still working and trying to manage our families and small children and juggling all the things that make it hard,” Bergman said. “But this is so important we all make time for it.”
This year, the advocates are also making and passing out bracelets with “end CSA” written on them, shorthand for “end childhood sexual abuse,” using the Taylor Swift-inspired trend of beaded jewelry to try and gain traction for their cause.
Once ensconced behind the table, advocates recount their lived experiences, as well as listen to others tell their own stories of trauma, or of loved ones’ trauma.
“Your brain is literally reliving your abuse and your trauma over and over every single time you talk about it,” Ramirez said. “On days like today, we tell our story a lot. It takes a toll.”
