CA--Victims praise new Stanford abuse lawsuit
For immediate release: Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016
Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, 314 645 5915 home, [email protected])
Sexual violence is too common and too devastating to be left solely to the criminal justice system. That’s why we applaud the brave Stanford woman who is now suing the university for allegedly acting with 'deliberate indifference' to reports of sexual assault.
When some depict civil litigation as being “just about money,” they do a disservice to vulnerable adults, innocent children and crime victims. Civil suits must be seen as effective ways to expose and deter wrongdoing. That’s their primary value to those who’ve been violated and those who value prevention.
Law professor Timothy Lytton has written persuasively that civil suits have uncovered “most of what we know about clergy sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and in motivating Church officials to address the problem.” The same will likely prove true about campus sexual violence and cover up, provided more and more victims find the courage and strength to assert their legal rights and insist on genuine reform.
https://www.google.com/search?q=lytton+civil+lawsuits+church&trackid=sp-006
No matter what courts or university officials do or don’t do, we urge every single person who saw, suspected or suffered sex crimes and cover ups in schools, churches or institutions to protect kids by calling police, get help by calling therapists, expose wrongdoers by calling attorneys, and be comforted by calling support groups like ours. This is how kids will be safer, adults will recover, criminals will be prosecuted, cover ups will be deterred and the truth will surface.
(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)
Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected])
Lawsuit: Stanford acted with 'deliberate indifference' to reports of sexual assault
Student seeks damages and a jury trial -by Elena Kadvany / Palo Alto Weekly
A female Stanford University student who says the same male student sexually assaulted her and several other women has filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging Stanford violated federal anti-discrimination law Title IX and acted negligently by failing to protect her and others from a "known sexual predator on campus."
Equal Rights Advocates, a national civil-rights organization based in San Francisco that supports and advocates for women's rights, along with San Francisco-based The Liu Law Firm and Colorado-based Hutchinson Black and Cook, filed a complaint for . . .
Winter Appeal 2023
To our friends,
2023 has been a long year with many ups and downs for us all. As we close out the year, we at SNAP hope that you are feeling like you are on your way to being healthy, fulfilled, and happy. This past year has brought both successes and challenges. Thanks to the support you have shown in the past, we’ve been able to celebrate the good days and weather the stormy ones. Now, we are once again asking for your support as we work to support survivors new and old as we ‘Move SNAP Forward.’
At SNAP we are proud to have hosted a very well-attended conference in August 2023. This event allowed us to gather friends, survivors, advocates, and allies for a weekend of camaraderie and connection. We were so happy to be able to welcome many first-time attendees to gather in person and are already looking forward to the next conference.
To strengthen our movement for justice, healing, and prevention, SNAP will be expanding our peer support and providing more volunteer opportunities in the coming year. Through this great work, we are ensuring survivor voices are represented as we work for significant change that will benefit children and survivors.
Right now, survivors worldwide are getting the help they need from SNAP, and more and more reach out to us daily, but we need your help to keep those programs going and get our volunteers the training they need to thrive.
Your tax-deductible gift to SNAP can help offset the cost of our important mission. If you are not in a position to contribute, you can still support us by sharing this letter with those who can. As we continue to fight for survivors across the globe, your donation or sharing the great work SNAP does will help us continue our work to protect the vulnerable, heal the wounded, and prevent abuse.
Your donation ensures SNAP will be there for those who need us more than ever!
Warmly,
Michael W. McDonnell, C.P.S.
Interim Executive Director
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