Bill to Protect Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, Hold Institutions Accountable Clears Committee

Denver, CO – Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act with bipartisan support. Sponsored by Senator Jessie Danielson and Senator Rhonda Fields, SB21-088 seeks to clarify existing law to protect survivors of child sexual abuse and hold bad actors accountable in an effort to provide necessary protections for children and deter instances of sexual abuse from happening in the future. 

“We have a duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves, but for decades, victims of child sexual abuse have been denied justice. It’s time for that to change,” said Senator Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge. “This vitally important bill will ensure that we hold abusers and their enablers accountable. We know that the healing process is long and hard – providing additional time for survivors to disclose their abuse will give us a greater opportunity to stop predators from causing additional harm and empower victims to find closure on their own terms.”

“Current law serves as a barrier to survivors of sexual abuse,” said Senator Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora. “The window for disclosing abuse is incredibly limited, which ends up benefiting predators and hurting survivors. This bill rebalances the scales of justice by allowing survivors to report the abuse they experienced when they are ready to come forward versus forcing them to comply within an arbitrary time frame that is often misaligned with their healing journey.” 

A long, documented history of institutional coverups around child sexual abuse in Colorado demonstrates a great need for the Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act. Institutions entrusted with the care of children have many times failed to respond to instances of child sexual abuse.

Delayed disclosure of these abuses has impacted the path to healing for survivors. By the time victims are able to come forward about their experience, Colorado’s extraordinarily short window of opportunity to file civil legal claims may have expired. This barrier has already barred hundreds of child sexual abuse victims from accessing the only option they have to seek monetary compensation for the pain they suffered – a necessary resource to rebuild their lives after experiencing such trauma. 

The Child Sexual Abuse Accountability Act would create an entirely new and freestanding cause of action, specifically tailored to address the institutional coverup that has persisted for decades. The bill would create a new right of relief for any person sexually abused in Colorado while participating in a youth program as a child.

Under the bill, a “Managing Organization” would be held liable if it failed to protect children either by active avoidance of acquired knowledge of abuse or willful negligence of suspected abuse.

SB21-088 now moves to Senate Appropriations for consideration. To track the progress of the bill, visit the Colorado General Assembly’s website.