This is a guest opinion column

We’ve all heard the Boy Scouts of America’s (BSA) famous motto, “Be Prepared.” After decades of denying that sexual abuse existed within Scouting, the Boy Scouts is prepared to do the right thing. BSA has created The Scouting Settlement Trust, a $2.5 billion fund set aside by the BSA and their insurers. This trust compensates former Scouts who were sexually abused by their Scouting leaders.

There are more than 82,000 claimants nationwide and at least 1,500 Scouting survivors in Alabama. Last year, SB127, or The Hidden Predator Law, a law to eliminate the current civil statute of limitations (SOL) and open a revival window for Child Sex Abuse (CSA), didn’t make it out of committee. This year, Senator Merika Coleman has sponsored SB 19, The Hidden Predator Law, and SB18, The Scout’s Honor Law, for the 2024 legislative session.

SB 19 extends the current SOL from the existing statute of six years to 36 years. When survivors in Alabama turn 19, they have six years or until the age of 25 to file a civil claim. The average age at which child sex abuse survivor speaks up is 52. Most survivors first disclose between ages 50 and 70 because it takes untold courage, sometimes decades of therapy, and substantial time to elapse for people to come forward to tell their stories. The Hidden Predators Law also creates a two-year window for any CSA survivor to bring a civil action against their abusers and the organizations that protected them. Without this revival window or the complete elimination of the SOL, few of the Scouting survivors and a significant number of survivors have no legal recourse.

SB 18 waives the statute of limitations for CSA claims against a bankruptcy estate. Without this law, the 1500-2000 former scouts in Alabama who were abused by their scoutmasters and have filed claims will only receive pennies on the dollar from the Scouting Settlement Trust. As the statute stands now, Alabama’s SOL only serves to protect insurance companies and causes further harm to the survivors of childhood sexual abuse by denying them due compensation and the necessary tools for recovery.

For those who believe that these cases should be handled by the criminal justice system and not with lawsuits, keep in mind that 85% of CSA survivors never report the crimes against them. Of the remaining 15%, only 20% of those cases ever go to trial, and fewer than half of those get a guilty verdict or plea. That means that only about 1.5% of survivors of CSA ever receive justice from the criminal justice system.

For those who believe SB19 will ruin the insurance industry in Alabama, look at the recent history in other states, which indicates there will not be a flood of lawsuits stemming from this bill becoming law. On average, only about 0.01% (1 hundredth of a percent) of CSA survivors in a state will bring suit if a revival window is opened. That would mean less than 140 cases in Alabama. Georgia had 20 cases filed when they opened a window a few years ago. Utah had four. Survivors still must prove their cases. Opening windows and reforming SOL laws only allow survivors to make a case against their abusers. Bringing such suits is a tremendous emotional and financial challenge for survivors, but they deserve the right to seek legal redress.

For BSA survivors, the BSA has admitted fault, and the bankruptcy is moving forward. All of the cases will be adjudicated, and damages will be assigned regardless of any state’s SOL. Under Alabama’s current SOL statute, scouting survivors have no standing to bring legal action against the BSA. Survivors will still be able to receive compensation from The Scouting Settlement Trust, but they will be denied the full compensation to which they are due. Several states, including Arkansas and Louisiana, have realized this, and have lifted the SOL for the victims of sexual abuse in Scouting so that those who were harmed can receive the resources they need, resources allowing everyone to move forward with the knowledge that those harmed can heal and the BSA has done its best to right its wrongs. The most recent bill passed in response to the Scouting Settlement is Ohio’s House Bill Number 35, the Scout’s Honor Bill, which passed unanimously because cases are moving forward regardless of the SOL.

Only fifteen out of one thousand perpetrators of CSA ever see jail or prison time. 98.5% of these predators remain hidden and can assault even more children. Their survivors have no chance of achieving justice without the possibility of civil action. That is why both the Office of Prosecutorial Services and the Alabama District Attorneys Association backed SB127 in 2023. SB19 uses the same language, so our group, Alabama Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, hopes for their endorsement for both SB1p and SB18 this year.

One in five girls and one in 13 boys suffer some form of CSA in their lives. That means that we have approximately 600,000 women and 230,000 men in Alabama who have suffered sexual trauma as children. Twenty-one states have eliminated civil SOLs for CSA and twenty-seven states have created revival windows. Alabama must do the same. Passing SB18 and SB19 this session protects Alabama’s children against hidden predators and the institutions that protect them and allows an already established fund for BSA survivors to be awarded to the survivors. Passing The Hidden Predator Law or at the very least lifting the SOL for Scouting survivors as a first step towards SOL reform, is the best and only way for Alabama to start reckoning with its epidemic of child sex abuse and to prevent any future abuse of its children. The BSA is prepared to make amends, but is Alabama?

Lanier Isom is a journalist based in Birmingham, co-author of the award-winning memoir Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond. The film, Lilly, based on her book, starring Patricia Clarkson, is in post-production. Her work has been Al Jazeera, The Los Angeles Times, The Lily, Huffington Post, and Salvation South. A frequent contributor to al.com, she is an Alabama Library Association Nonfiction Award recipient and a 2023 Alabama State Council of the Arts fellow.