New U.S. Law Mandates Sports Organizations Report Sexual Abuse Accusations

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Photo Courtesy: Brian Honicky

The President of the United States signed the “Protecting Youth Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017,” making the bill into law. The new legislation will require any amateur sporting organization to report any accusations of sexual abuse to law enforcement.

According to a report in the IndyStar, the new law “aims to fix a patchwork of state reporting rules by requiring adults who interact with amateur athletes to report suspected child abuse, including sexual abuse, within 24 hours to local law enforcement. The statute of limitations on abuse will not begin until the victim realizes she has been abused.”

The law comes in the wake of the #MeToo movement and the large number of sexual harassment and abuse allegations that have come to light recently, including the trial of Larry Nassar, the doctor who was accused of abusing more than 150 women over more than 20 years.

Abuse in the swimming community has also come to light, most recently when Olympian Ariana Kukors accused longtime coach Sean Hutchison of several years of harassment and abuse, including grooming that she said began at 13 years-old and sexual abuse that began when she was just 16. USA had investigated the relationship between both parties and cleared Hutchison of any wrongdoing back in 2011

You can see the original article detailing the passage of the law from the IndyStar here.

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