Patti Barton buried deep what had happened to her.
She was barely over a year old when she was first sexually abused by her father — a man who was supposed to protect her; a man she was supposed to be able to trust. But it wasn’t until she began marriage counseling nearly 30 years later that the memories of her abuse were uncovered.
Victims of childhood abuse often repress traumatic memories or are unable to connect their experiences to injuries until long after the abuse occurred, frequently while undergoing therapy for a seemingly unrelated issue.
But in all too many cases, including Patti’s, that realization leaves survivors powerless. By the time traumatic memories have been recovered, the statute of limitations — the time limit for legal action after an assault has been committed — has expired, and the survivor is left without remedy for the harm done to her.
Legal Voice has long been a leader in the effort to ensure childhood sexual abuse survivors can bring legal action against their abusers, regardless of how much time has passed since the abuse occurred. In 1986, we filed an amicus brief in Tyson v. Tyson, a case involving another woman who had recovered memories of sexual abuse from her childhood throughout the course of therapy. We encouraged the Washington Supreme Court to create an exception to the statute to allow her and other victims of childhood sexual abuse to seek damages for the crimes committed against them, even if they didn’t remember the abuse until after the limitations had expired. The court disagreed with our arguments and ruled against the woman, thus barring many victims of childhood sexual abuse from using the legal system to receive justice. The Tyson ruling meant that Patti couldn’t sue her father for damages. It also meant that we needed to turn to another forum to make change: the Washington State Legislature.
Armed with Patti’s testimony and her unrelenting determination to create change, we helped draft and pass the country’s first state legislation that provides survivors like Patti a way to sue their abusers. The law amended the state’s “discovery rule” to make it apply to childhood sexual assault, allowing the time limit for legal action to start at the point the victim realizes her injuries are a result of childhood abuse, instead of when she reaches 18 years of age. We then went on to defend the constitutionality of that law in the Washington Supreme Court, while Patti went on to file the first suit under the new law. She later successfully advocated before the Alaska Legislature for similar legislation.
We also helped pass a similar law in Montana, and several years later, successfully urged the Montana Supreme Court to apply the discovery rule to injuries caused by individuals who negligently contributed to the abuse — not just the abuser. This decision helps ensure victims have access to the courts and can hold all parties accountable, regardless of whether their involvement was intentional or negligent.
