HARRISBURG, Pa. — Victims of sexual abuse in Pennsylvania are fighting an uphill battle to change the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse by urging the state senate to pass House Bill 1 and House Bill 2.
“We are not fighting a religion, we are fighting abuse,” said Jasper Hoffman, a participant from the Peacock streaming series "Sins of the Amish" and host of the "Plain People's Podcast."
As more and more victims come forward, the Pennsylvania State Senate faces mounting pressure to pass House Bills 1 and 2, allowing victims more time to sue their abusers.
The bills have stalled due to bureaucratic reasons.
A statement from Senate GOP Communications Director Kate Flessner said, “In January, the Senate immediately organized the chamber for the 2023-2024 legislative session and took action on Senate Bill 1 on January 11. We have been unwavering in our position and consistently urged the House to vote on Senate Bill 1 as presented. As passed by the Senate, SB 1 would have provided voters with a direct voice on voter identification, legislative review of regulations and opening the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse survivors through constitutional amendments.”
Additionally, former Jehovah Witness Martin Haugh says, “the past five plus years, the Senate has not passed this bill, this is a way to open a statute of limitations for victims of child abuse in the past years to get justice for the victim and to also bring accountability to the churches who protected the child abuse.”
Demonstrators at Monday’s rally say one group often overlooked in child abuse cases are the Amish and Mennonite communities, due to their community’s isolationist practices.
“I think that most people romanticize the Amish and Mennonites more than anything else and so it’s really changing the narrative,” Hoffman said.
“They have a higher abuse rate than almost any other church because they are so insolated and are so not thought about,” Haugh noted.
Programs, including the streaming series ‘Sins of the Amish’ have brought more attention to Amish and Mennonite communities, and shed greater light on the alleged abuse suffered by women and children.
But supporters, including survivor and founder of non-profit 'Misfit Amish' Mary Byler say additional action is needed to bring real change.
“Survivors of child sexual abuse deserve justice, we deserve access to litigation, we are worthy of human rights.”
In a study conducted by Byler in 2021, she reports 50% of Amish and Mennonite children have experienced sexual abuse. However, few cases were reported to authorities.
“Bringing people together in commonality of recognizing child abuse does not know any barriers, it is within the most insulated communities, it is within the most secular communities,” Hoffman said.
Previous legislation aiming to give survivors the same rights, known as Senate Bill 1, passed the house and is now in the senate.
However, it has faced some issues after being grouped with provisions regarding voter identification and executive power.
FOX43 reached out to Senate GOP leadership for a statement on where the bills stand right now.
In their response, Flessner also shared “the House chose not to act on Senate Bill 1 in time for the questions to appear on the May ballot. It was not until the end of May that the House passed Senate Bill 1, after removing two of the three constitutional amendments. While the house decided to remove two of the three measures from Senate Bill 1 as it was passed by the senate, our caucus remains open to conversations about how to accomplish all three of the important constitutional amendments initially included in Senate Bill 1.”
If passed, House Bill 1 would require additional approval by Pennsylvania voters and could be on the ballot by November elections.