Those who fight their cases through legal assistance not only get justice, but also pave the way for others to stop being silent and make sure their perpetrators get punished.
Don’t be a silent victim. Tell your plight. Incidences of clergy sexual abuse did not begin with the investigation of the Archdiocese of Boston in January 2002. That was when the pattern of sexual abuse of children in Catholic churches and their corruptions got recognized by the common people and media.
The sexual abuse in churches by Pastors, Priests, Sisters, Brothers, Deacons, and members of various orders is an awful example of exploitation of the faith and trust that a young parishioner getps from the Catholic Church. The way the Bishops and Cardinals have mishandled things are beyond acceptance and tells about their callous attitude.
Through the decades, it came into the observation that the Dioceses from California to New York and from Florida to Washington chose their reputation over the trauma of the children who faced exploitation. The church kept transferring the pedophile priests and told lies to the victims of sexual abuse.
Archdiocese and Clergy sexual abuse
Now, the disgrace about the sexual abuses within the churches is known to all. Though, these abuses were kept under wrap by the authorities for many decades, until in 1981, when a case of sexual abuse came up in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it was thoroughly investigated.
Next, there was the case of a Louisiana priest who was charged with 11 cases of sexual molestation; more reports surfaced. The final blow came in 1998 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas reportedly paid a settlement of $30.9 million to 12 victims of a priest; the world began to notice.
Since then, many victims came forward with their sexual abuse stories to their respective church authorities. BishopAccountability.org stated that in 2012 approximately $3 billion in lawsuits were settled by the Catholic Church for sexual abuse between 1950-2012. In the six years between 2003-2009, more than 1,550 victims got settlements from the church in the US.
All these incidents got global media coverage. Though many of the cases got covered up and never reached the public glare, so it would be difficult to say how many children fall real victims to the hands of the powerful perpetrators of the church.
The only fact is that abuses are not isolated; there were reports of sexual abuse of children at the hands of priests, bishops, and nuns in every part of the world.
Finding legal support
In such cases of abuse, to find a good church sexual abuse attorney is a relief. If there are instances where your loved ones have faced sexual abuse at the hands of powerful people in the church, you don’t have to worry anymore. You can approach legal experts.
There are many legal firms, agencies, or individual law practitioners who have experience of helping victims of molestation, abuse, and rape. The survivors’ identities are kept confidential until one wants to move to the court with their case.
In most scenarios, the victims are young children, so elders must keep an account of every change they observe in a kid.
Today, after hearing many survivor stories, many of the victims feel empowered to come forward and share their plight. Those who fight their cases through legal assistance not only get justice, but also pave the way for others to stop being silent and make sure their perpetrators get punished.
Winding-up
If you are a victim or you know anyone who has faced sexual abuse at the hands of the church, contact a church sexual abuse attorney to get justice. A specialized lawyer will have expertise in the field and will know where to start.
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