We write a lot in this space about Catholic crimes, both the abuse of kids and the cover up of that abuse. Maybe too much.
But we at Horowitz Law help men, women and children who are being or have been victimized in any institutional setting, not just churches and certainly not just in the Catholic church.
Teachers. Coaches. Tutors. Principals. Therapists. Day care providers. Massage therapists. Personal trainers, Chiropractors. Doctors. Nurses.
The list goes on and on. . .
And in the religious realm: preachers, rabbis, nuns, monks, seminarians, ministers, bishops, musicians, brothers, imams. . .anyone who exploits their power for their own sexual gratification and anyone who enables predators to do this, by action or inaction.
Yes, the Catholic church has a particularly long-standing and egregious track record on abuse and cover up. But yes, we address child sex crimes in lots of institutions.
We may not be alone in focusing heavily on the abuse of children in Catholic settings.
Just this week, a Pennsylvania newspaper wrote about the legislative session there coming to an end. In a section headlined "Here's what they didn't do," a reporter listed bills that were proposed but not enacted.
The last item on the list: "Didn't pass a window for justice for priest abuse victims."
As regular readers of this blog well know, civil windows are NOT just for 'priest abuse victims.' That would no doubt be unconstitutional. And wrong.
We at Horowitz Law are particularly active in states that HAVE enacted civil windows (including New York, New Jersey, California, Vermont, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Maine).
And in those states, in fact in ALL states, we are committed to helping everyone we can, regardless of whether the abuser worked at a camp, a school.
How can you help? You can spread the word about states with windows, states in which survivors who've long been shut out of the legal system, now have a chance for justice, no matter how long ago they were first hurt. (See ChildUSA.org for details)
And you can get involved in organizations that are fighting for more windows. (ChildUSAadvocacy.org, SNAPnetwork.org)
Because abuse and cover up happens everywhere. And everyone - except predators and their enablers - benefit when windows are passed everywhere.