Jehovah’s Witnesses, Child Abuse and the Child Victims Act: A Discussion with Mark O’Donnell

In the last year, we have seen a major change in how sexual and child abuse is viewed and handled by authorities. In the #MeToo and #ChurchToo era, more courageous survivors are safely telling their stories. Even cult leaders are being held accountable for abuses they inflicted. For example, recently NXIVM leader Keith Raniere was convicted. Other harmful groups are also being sued such as Scientology. Attorney Marci Hamilton, founder of the nonprofit think tank ChildUSA, is accomplishing many victories. I previously published a blog and video of her talk about my forensic think tank at The Program in Psychiatry and the Law, at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, a teaching hospital of the Harvard Medical School. Marci came and spoke about her quest to abolish statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. She is now one of seven victims’ rights attorneys representing a former Scientologist who suffered great harm as a child raised in that organization. Their goal is to hold the church “accountable for a history of extensive abuse.” And they have set up a website to help gather additional allegations.