"Soul-destroying."
Although a number of other scathing comments were forthcoming from one country's commissioner for children recently regarding draft rules aimed at denying select minors from compensation after being sexually abused, that succinct condemnation eminently sums up Anne Longfield's views toward the legislation.
Longfield's role as England's top-tier advocate for children is critically important, of course. And she is using her position to make it crystal clear that she is flatly disgusted with the idea that a child as young as 12 could be denied compensation in the wake of sexual abuse because he or she allegedly "consented" to it.
California readers from across the state who follow our blog posts at the victims'-rights Law Office of Joseph C. George, Ph.D., know how our proven and committed attorneys would react to any such would-be law.
We would rightly spotlight its material error, noting that in no rational or ethical universe could there ever be any linkage between children and their consenting to be heinously injured by the callous and premeditated acts of predators.
Indeed, the enactment of any such law -- in California or anywhere else -- would be manna for wrongdoers, who would be insulated from liability by a skewed system that should be forever focused upon the protection of vulnerable young human beings.
Longfield makes the notable point that perpetrators often hold positions of trust, such as doctors, teachers, coaches, priests and mentors. That reality renders any notion of child consent even more problematic.
The ability of a strong advocate to argue for meaningful compensation on behalf of sexually abused victims is critically important, Longfield notes. Many victims and their families are understandably empowered through the legal process and the securing of a money recovery.
Being proactive and forceful in responding to sexual wrongdoing, states Longfield, helps victims "feel that something positive has come out of the horrors thy have had to go through as children."
We agree at our law firm, knowing from decades of on-point representation that such is the case.
We welcome readers' contacts to our firm, and the opportunity to help sexual abuse victims move forward with hope, purpose and happiness in their lives. We know that doing so is possible.