HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Lawmakers, survivors of child sex abuse, and advocates pushed for legislative reform at the state capitol.
That legislation Senate Bill 261 looks to change the statute of limitations, among other things.
The move comes on the heels of the two-year grand jury investigation into widespread sexual abuse of children in six dioceses of the catholic church in Pennsylvania.
It is survivors, once victims of child sex abuse, who have inspired a movement within the Commonwealth.
"I'm very, very hopeful. this is the most hopeful I've ever been, and I've been doing this for five years, and this bill has been tried to been passed for 15 years," said Kristen Pfautz-Woolley, a survivor of child sex abuse and founder of Turning Point in York County.
It's a movement to pass legislation which would reform the way child sex abuse is handled in Pennsylvania.
"I can't understand why we can't all agree on protecting children and seeking justice and keeping the predators accountable and the institutions who protected them," said Jamie Dantzscher, a former member of the USA Gymnastics team.
She's one of hundreds of women who came forward saying the team doctor Larry Nassar sexually abused them.
"When I first came forward, I was trying to do the right thing and protect other children. I never thought I would actually get justice and see Larry Nassar behind bars one day," she explained.
Now, she and other survivors, from young to old, wait to see what will happen in Pennsylvania.
"No matter what age you are, or if it happened to you, 5 years ago, or twenty, you should be able to speak up about your story. You shouldn't be told when you can say your story," said Thomas Williams, a now teenage survivor of child sexual abuse.
"There's so much shame. There's so much guilt. There's so much embarrassment. You think it's your fault, all those things. So people often ask, 'why didn't you come forward earlier? Why all of a sudden is this all happening?' It's because they finally feel like they have the courage to say it," explained Woolley.
Survivors wait to see if justice will be served to the perpetrators with the passing of historic legislation, over a decade in the making.
"This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of protecting children from sexual abuse. This is something we must all support," added Dantzscher.
