"The law will eliminate the question of the stopwatch over the heads of injured children":
The Knesset plenum approved in a preliminary reading the statute of limitations for lawsuits for a sexual offense by MK Michal Shir Segman (New Hope).
22 Knesset members supported without opponents and the proposal will be forwarded to the Constitution Committee for further preparation.
Under the bill, it is proposed to change the existing situation regarding the extension of the statute of limitations in sexual assault and abuse claims so that the period is not shortened in case the victim is a minor, even if an indictment has been filed against the perpetrator and even a final verdict in the criminal case.
"The law will eliminate the question of the stopwatch standing over the heads of those injured children and allow them to act at the right time for them" Illustration, Photo: Getty Images
The explanatory memorandum reads: "Life experience shows that many times the exposure of the injury and the criminal proceedings that follow are not necessarily due to the victim's willingness, brewing, choice and willingness. Finding himself, out of necessity, is a key witness in a criminal case. "
"In this situation, the law's requirement that within one year of the conclusion of the criminal proceedings he must initiate a civil lawsuit leads to an unreasonable result, according to which a victim who did not conduct criminal proceedings (whatever the reason) enjoys the entire period until the statute of limitations, while a victim who filed a writ An indictment, as stated sometimes without being prepared and due to that, the statute of limitations is set at one year, "according to the text.
MK Shir Segman responded that "if the same child does not file a civil lawsuit in that year not only that justice will not be able to operate in its entirety, but also on the assumption that the victim did not come from a wealthy family the child will not be able to rehabilitate and receive the resources needed for care and rehabilitation.
The law I am bringing before you today comes to solve this problem.
The law will eliminate the question of the stopwatch standing over the heads of those injured children and allow them to act at the right time for them. "