STATEMENT: Breaking the Silence: Addressing Sexual Violence in Healthcare Settings Roundtable
On April 9, 2025, Commonwealth of Massachusetts legislature members will convene with advocates and survivors at the Massachusetts State House for a roundtable on sexual assualt, abuse and violence, and the desired steps to be taken to eliminate the dark cloud that befalls our state, various businesses and organizations, and of course, its residents. Justice Law Collaborative is known for its staunch advocacy and trauma-informed legal expertise around sexual assault and abuse and therefore wished to convey the firm's position with respectful recommendations which if implemented, will greatly diminish the probability of sexual assault and violence and also provide a path to proper legal remediation.
Dear Distinguished members of the Massachusetts Legislature, fellow advocates, and survivors:
On behalf of Justice Law Collaborative LLC, we appreciate the opportunity to express our firm's strong support for the legislative measures being discussed today aimed at protecting patients from sexual misconduct in healthcare settings and expanding accountability for institutions where abuse occurs.
Our firm has represented hundreds of survivors of sexual abuse across various institutional settings, including healthcare facilities. Through this work, we have witnessed, firsthand, the devastating and long-lasting trauma that survivors experience - trauma often compounded by institutional failures to implement basic safeguards that could have prevented abuse.
Sexual Assault is an Epidemic that must be Addressed by Legislators:
Nearly 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men in Massachusetts have experience some form ofsexual violence.(1) While females are at increased risks, children and minors are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, as 77% of females experience their first rape before the age of 25, with 43% experiencing their first rape before 18 years of age. Twenty-eight percent of male victims experienced their first rape when they were 10 years of age or younger.(2)
These statistics don’t account for all the instances of non-penetrative sexual assaults of minors. Despite this crisis, institutions and organizations hide behind the archaic charitable cap to limit the damages they owe to these survivors who are suffering tremendously, claiming to owe no more than a pathetic and meaningless $20,000 for their damages and suffering. These institutions include religious entities, hospitals, schools, alleged non-profit organizations, such as Boy Scouts of America and Amateur Athletic Unions – institutions and organizations with ready access to vulnerable children.
By way of example, over the past 72 years, 173 people came to the Diocese with credible allegations of sexual abuse, 93 reported the abuse after 2004.(3) Despite this rampant and well-known issue of sexual abuse of children, since 2004 the Diocese has indisputably taken the position that “the church is claiming 'charitable immunity,’ therefore, by law, [the church] does not have to pay victims more than $20,000.”(4)
The Boston Globe reported that Diocese Chancellor Thomas Sullivan admitted in 2004 that “‘These offers are certainly lower,’ said Sullivan, noting the Supreme Judicial Court ruling this year against plaintiffs seeking to outlaw state caps on the legal liability of charitable institutions. ‘All future litigation, not just in clergy sexual abuse, will be far less because of the charitable immunity caps.’” The Boy Scouts of America have also publicly advised that it will rely on the charitable cap to deny survivors of sexual abuse warranted compensation for their extensive suffering.(5)
Clearly the law must change. Not only does this practice of capping damages protect wrongdoers and insurance carriers, it further victimizes the abused when they are told that they are not entitled to what a jury may find their trauma to be worth. See examples of client testimonials attached. Having personally represented several survivors and faced this defense from the Diocese, Boy Scouts and many other institutions and organizations, including schools and Amateur Athletic Unions, this legislation is necessary to bring an end to this utter lack of justice for survivors in the Commonwealth.
To any entity in opposition, they can limit their financial exposure by simply doing the right thing and not enable abusers and rapists an opportunity to offend. The Commonwealth must understand the consequences of damage caps and eliminate them. Both sexual and physical abuse survivors have endured far too much and deserve better from the Commonwealth.
Supporting the Chaperone Requirement Bills (S.1491/H.2362):
We strongly endorse Senate Bill 1491 and House Bill 2362, "An Act relative to chaperones for medical exams." These identical bills would establish crucial protections by:
- Requiring healthcare providers to offer trained chaperones for all genital and rectal examinations regardless of gender, and for breast examinations for patients who identify as female
- Ensuring patients have informed choice regarding chaperone presence
- Establishing clear documentation requirements for patient preferences
- Setting standards for chaperone qualifications and independence
The presence of properly trained chaperones serves a dual purpose: deterring potential misconduct while providing reassurance to vulnerable patients during sensitive examinations. These requirements represent common-sense safeguards that should be standard practice throughout our healthcare system.
Eliminating the Charitable Immunity Cap (H.1723/S.1193):
We equally support House Bill 1723 and Senate Bill 1193, "An Act to eliminate the charitable immunity cap." Massachusetts remains one of the few states that still maintains this antiquated legal doctrine, which limits liability for charitable organizations, including many healthcare institutions, to $20,000 regardless of the severity of harm caused. This cap:
- Denies full justice to survivors of institutional abuse
- Removes a significant financial incentive for institutions to implement proper safeguards
- Places an arbitrary and outdated barrier to accountability for negligent organizations
It is important to note that the charitable immunity cap effectively creates a windfall for insurance companies, who collect substantial premiums from charitable organizations while rarely having to pay more than nominal amounts on claims due to the $20,000 liability limit. This system allows insurers to profit while survivors bear the lifelong costs of their injuries and trauma. The financial benefit flows not to charitable missions, but to insurance company bottom lines.
Furthermore, when survivors are left to bear the lifelong costs of their injuries and trauma, many are forced into dire financial situations that require them to seek state support and services. The burden of care ultimately shifts to Massachusetts taxpayers through increased reliance on MassHealth, disability benefits, mental health services, and other public assistance programs. In effect, the charitable immunity cap privatizes profits for insurers while socializing the true costs of institutional negligence to our Commonwealth's taxpayers.
The charitable immunity cap has become a shield that protects institutional interests rather than public safety. In cases of sexual abuse, the current $20,000 limit is particularly unconscionable given the profound and lifelong impacts experienced by survivors.
The Need for Comprehensive Reform:
These legislative proposals represent necessary components of a more comprehensive approach to preventing sexual misconduct in healthcare settings. Patient safety demands that we implement multiple layers of protection through:
- Prevention measures like chaperone requirements
- Meaningful institutional accountability through the elimination of liability caps
- Enhanced education and training for healthcare professionals
- Trauma-informed support for survivors
Justice Law Collaborative LLC believes that patient safety must always take precedence over institutional convenience or financial interests. These bills strike an appropriate balance between protecting patients and respecting the practical realities of healthcare delivery.
Conclusion: We urge the Legislature to advance these critical pieces of legislation. Every day that passes without these protections leaves patients vulnerable and denies survivors proper recourse. Massachusetts has the opportunity to lead the nation in establishing a healthcare environment where patients can receive care with confidence and dignity, and where survivors can obtain meaningful justice when systems fail them.
Thank you for your consideration and leadership on these important issues.
Respectfully submitted,
Paula Bliss Esq.
Kimberly Dougherty, Esq.
Laura Yaeger, Esq.
Kelly Guagenty, Esq.
JUSTICE LAW COLLABORATIVE, LLC
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1 Massachusetts Department of Public Health. (2015). Sexual Violence in Massachusetts: Data Brief. Retrieved from https://www.mass.gov.
2 Smith, S.G., Zhang, X., Basile, K.C., Merrick, M.T., Wang, J., Kresnow, M., & Chen, J. (2017). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2015 Data Brief – Updated Release. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4 https://www.snapnetwork.org/news/massachusetts/worcester/lawyer_calls_settlement.htm