SHAWNEE, Kan. — Kansas took a big leap towards victim advocacy earlier this week when Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill to give survivors of child sexual abuse more time to file lawsuits.
The new law will allow police to pursue criminal cases of child sexual abuse indefinitely and give survivors until they turn 31 and three years after a criminal conviction to file a lawsuit.
Kansas State Sen. Cindy Holscher said the average age for a victim to come forward is 52 years old. She was one of the legislators, along with countless survivors, who has championed the bill for the last four years.
“The reason we were able to move forward this year was we reached that critical mass: Enough people that understood the topic and felt confident in voting for it," Holscher said. "The other area where we need to work is revival window, because we have a number of survivors out there that won’t be impacted by this change.”
One of those survivors who has yet to find justice is Kim Bergman.
She was sexually abused by her gymnastics coach when she was 12 years old.
Bergman came forward as a child about the abuse, but there was not enough evidence to convict her coach at the time.
Gymnastics had always been Bergman’s safe place — somewhere she went to escape her difficult home life — but she was ultimately hurt by the very institution that was supposed to protect her.
“He would tell me that I would have to let him do certain things to me for me to be able to have more time at the gym — to be able to move up a level," Bergman said. "It happened at a time when you’re kind of learning your body and what’s going on."
She finally heard in 2008 that he was arrested for a different case, but the statute of limitations had expired for her case by then.
“I learned over the years that I’m one of 11 that were all abused by the same coach," Bergman said. "Our perpetrator was finally convicted, but he was only convicted of abusing the one victim because of the statute of limitations."
She would have appreciated her day in court, too.
"I think it’s to know that you mattered," Bergman said. "My abuser, he was convicted and he’s on the sex offender registry, but he was never convicted for what he did to me.”
President and CEO of Sunflower House Judi Rodman said one out of 10 children will experience sexual abuse by their 18th birthday. Of those 10 individuals, only one out of three will actually disclose the abuse during childhood.
“For them to be able to come forward during a time that they are comfortable doing so, and then to be able to get support, financial support possibly, through a civil case to be able to help them with the cost of treatment and medical care, we just feel like that's very important,” Rodman said. “When we have a statute of limitations and you can only come forward in this period of time, that individual may not be personally ready to do that.”
Bergman said despite the pain, her story has empowered her to become a gymnastics coach and a voice for others without one.
“If something happens to you, someone makes you uncomfortable, tell someone and keeping telling until someone listens,” Bergman said.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Below is a list of local resources for anyone impacted by child abuse:
<h2>Child-abuse reporting hotlines</h2>
- Kansas: 1-800-922-5330
- Missouri: 1-800-392-3738
<h2>Sunflower House Child Advocacy Center</h2>
- Serving Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas
- 913-631-5800
<h2>Child Protection Center</h2>
- Serving Jackson, Cass and Lafayette counties in Missouri
- 816-778-8000
<h2>Synergy Services</h2>
- Serving Clay and Platte counties in Missouri
- 816-321-7040
<h2>Metro Council of Community Behavioral Health Centers</h2>
- List of all Kansas City-area community mental-health centers
<h2>MOCSA</h2>
- Serving greater Kansas City
- Crisis lines: 816-531-0233 or 913-642-0233
- 816-931-4527
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