Jewish Summer Camps’ Response to Prevent Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is a problem that lurks in almost every place and every institution, even in Jewish summer camps. In order to assist in putting an end to sexual abuse, it is time to discuss the challenge openly, explore its roots, and find ways to address it and prevent it. Camp Ramah, a large Jewish camping network, has taken a large step to preventing sexual abuse and assault on its campgrounds by taking the full-on hug off the table; Camp Ramah is training its staff to give side-hugs instead.

Ramah’s decision comes as some camping networks are bolstering policies to prevent abuse and to make reporting abuse easier in the wake of the allegations against NJY Camp’s former director, Leonard Robinson. Robinson was forced to resign from his 25-year post as executive director after an investigation revealed that he had sexually harassed or assaulted at least 11 female employees.

As the first summer since New York passed the Child Victim’s Act – a New York legislation that extends the statute of limitations for minors who were sexually abused – organizations, such as Camp Ramah, are re-evaluating social moves that previously went unquestioned.

The Child Victim’s Act Gives Child Sexual Abuse Victims More Time to Sue

The Child Victims Act (CVA) loosens one of the nation’s lightest statutes of limitations on child sexual abuse and molestation. The act also creates a one-year litigation window for victims of child sex abuse, regardless of their age, to file civil lawsuits until March 14, 2020.

The CVA allows victims until 55 years of age to file civil lawsuits and seek criminal charges until age 28, as opposed to 23 under the old statute.

A few other states have recently enacted similar laws to expand time frame for reporting and filing child sexual victims’ lawsuits. New Jersey passed a similar law to give victims until 55 or seven years after they make “the discovery” connecting their emotional and psychological injury to their abuse. Massachusetts gives victims up to 35 years to sue. Ohio and Pennsylvania both now give victims until age 30.

Call Us for More Information!

If you or a loved one is the victim of childhood school sexual abuse, you need to know how the Child Victims Act can help you get the justice you deserve. For more information or to better understand how this law can help you, please call our professional help center at 212-385-4410.