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Jeffrey
Bradley, LICSW
Ahimsa Center
for Growth and Development, LLC
464 Granite
Avenue, Suite 25
Milton,
Massachusetts 02186
Testimony before the Joint
Committee on the Judiciary, March 14, 2006
My name is Jeffrey Bradley and I am a clinical
social worker in private practice in Milton, MA. I
am here today in support of three bills concerning
the amending civil statute limitations (House
Bill 909, Senate Bill 1057), criminal statute of
limitations (House Bill 3555), the chartable
immunity statutes (Senate Bill 1058, House Bill
1813, Senate Bill 1056).
One of my specializations is working with post
traumatic stress and since 1982 I have worked
specifically with the problem of child sexual
abuse. I have treated both victims/survivors and
perpetrators, as well as families of survivors. In
1992 I began to work with individuals who have been
affected by clergy sexual abuse and have since
treated, evaluated or consulted on more than 200
cases of clergy sexual abuse. I am currently a
member of the Boston Archdiocese’s Review Board, in
which cases of allegations of sexual misconduct by
priests are reviewed.
Child sexual abuse is in effect domestic
terrorism. The perpetrator, disguised as caring and
interested, manipulates and preys on children to
serve his own pathological needs. What occurs is an
awesome and sudden transformation from being a
normal child or adolescent to becoming tormented
with grief, guilt, shame, panic, and fear; the
direction of their lives have been altered.
Disclosure at the time of abuse is not common and
this is largely because of the profound impact of
this type of trauma. Neurological, behavioral,
criminological, educational, medical, and
psychological studies have consistently documented
the reality of this phenomenon of delayed
disclosure. It is not new. What is new is the
constantly evolving body of evidence that
demonstrates the dramatic physiological and
neurological impact that is sustained. Brain
imaging has confirmed that areas of the brain
concerned with emotional and rational regulation
have consistent abnormalities with survivors of
sexual assault trauma; brain damage which the
survivor could live with for the remainder of his or
her life. Therefore, survivors don’t disclose
because their ability to rationally sort out their
victimization has been neurologically altered and
compromised. Suddenly they are transformed into a
life of profound fear and vulnerability, which does
not have any statute of limitation.
This profound life long impact on survivors is not
isolated to the victim. Studies of the secondary
impact of sexual abuse all indicate a significant
psychological, economic, and social burden for the
families and communities of people victimized.
Substance abuse, assaultive behavior, suicide,
depression, occupational disability, criminal
behavior, self-destructive behavior, academic
failure, and school drop out all have direct
correlations with surviving sexual abuse. This is a
crime with profound implications for our society.
Eliminating the statue of limitations allows for
successful prosecution and potentially puts a limit
on the degree of impact it has on the individual,
the family of the survivor, and the community at
large.
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