WHAT IS A SEXUAL ABUSE, ASSAULT, AND HARASSMENT CLAIM?
If you have been taken advantage of sexually, your body, soul, and legal rights have been violated. While you know you have been wronged, the sexual abuse, assault, and harassment lawyers in Cincinnati at Burg Simpson can help you determine what legal claims you may have.
For example, while you may have a sexual assault claim against the person who abused you, you may also have a claim against the abuser’s employer who knew or should have known that the perpetrator was a danger and failed to take reasonable steps to protect others from them.
Determining all of the people or entities responsible for the wrongs you have endured is critical to protecting your rights and getting you the compensation you deserve. One of the harassment lawyers in Burg Simpson’s Cincinnati, Ohio office can help. Call us today at 513-852-5600.
SEXUAL ABUSE & ASSAULT IN SPORTS
One of the biggest sexual abuse cases in recent memory has been dominating headlines. Former Olympic gymnastics team doctor and Michigan State osteopathic physician Larry Nassar was accused of abusing or assaulting more than 150 women and girls over the last 20 years.
In early January 2018, after hours of testimony from former victims, the judge in the case sentenced Nassar to 40 to 175 years in prison after confessing to seven counts of sexual assault on a minor. A couple of weeks later, he pled guilty to another three counts, earning another 40 to 125 years of jail time. This was on top of an earlier sentence of 60 years for possession of child pornography.
The case has not only rocked the U.S. Gymnastics community, but it has led to federal legislation making it a crime for failing to report sexual assault in Olympic sports.
But Nassar is only the latest — and perhaps highest profile — such case. Studies suggest that every year anywhere from 2 percent to 8 percent of minor-age athletes are victims of sexual abuse. The vast majority of the perpetrators in these cases — 98 percent — were coaches, teachers, or instructors. These assaults typically occur where these sports activities take place, in the abuser’s home, during practice or training, or at unrelated social events.
SEXUAL ABUSE & ASSAULT BY TEACHERS
Sexual abuse and assault in educational settings aren’t just getting more headlines. They’ve tragically been on the rise for a while now. And it’s not just in high school settings. More and more often, these horrifying incidents are infiltrating elementary and middle schools.
Research shows that more than 83 percent of girls and 79 percent of boys say they’ve been sexually harassed in school, while nearly a third of girls and almost a quarter of boys reported they were sexually harassed “often.” Although this research did not distinguish sexual harassment by peers from sexual harassment by educators, a 2004 report to the Department of Education suggests that nearly 10 percent of children suffer some form of sexual abuse at the hands of educators over the course of their educational career. That works out to roughly 4.5 million children in school right now who’ve endured some form of sexual abuse and/or assault by teachers.
SEXUAL ABUSE & ASSAULT BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
It doesn’t make the news like some other areas of sexual abuse and assault, but if the Larry Nassar case has taught us anything, it’s that patients can be particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse or assault by their trusted medical professionals.
In 2016, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published an investigative report on sexual abuse by doctors. The paper uncovered disciplinary documents and other records that identified more than 3,100 doctors who’d been reprimanded for sexual misconduct since 1999. More than 2,400 of those doctors were sanctioned for violations that involved patients. Alarmingly, the report also found that in Georgia, two-thirds of the doctors disciplined for sexual misconduct were able to continue practicing medicine.
SEXUAL ABUSE & ASSAULT BY SPIRITUAL LEADERS
When many people think of sexual abuse or assault in a religious setting, they think about the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church that broke in the 1980s. In 1985, for example, one priest confessed to abusing 37 boys. He eventually pled guilty to 34 criminal counts.
As hard as it is to believe, it wasn’t until 2001 that the Catholic church required cases of sexual abuse to be reported to the Vatican. Before that, all cases were “handled” at the local level.
Such misconduct is certainly not limited to the religious leaders of the Catholic Church. Rather, religious leaders of several faiths have been accused of sexual misconduct over the years. The New York Times reported about a series of abuses in the orthodox Jewish community in New York. Other stories of abuse and assault have emerged among Mormons, Hindus, Jehovah’s Witnesses and even an international Christian cult that went by the name “the Children of God,” just to name a few.
People who are meeting with a religious leader, particularly in a one-on-one setting, are often already vulnerable. Whether they’re suffering a crisis of faith or dealing with the loss of a loved one, they are seeking spiritual guidance from their faith leader. So when that leader takes advantage of that situation sexually, it can be a traumatizing experience. If this has happened to you, you don’t have to go through it alone.
SEXUAL ABUSE, ASSAULT, & HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
The #MeToo movement has been more than effective at shining a spotlight on sexual harassment and assault in the workplace over the last few months. The numbers are staggering. Nearly 1 in 6 women, and 1 in 33 men, will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
At the same time, awareness has never been higher. According to Google, and as reported by Vox, online searches for “What is sexual harassment?” reached a five-year peak in November 2017. Searches for terms such as ‘sexual assault’ and “sexual misconduct” spiked at around the same time.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission defines sexual harassment as “unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature in the workplace or learning environment.” Unlike sexual assault, sexual harassment is not a crime per se, however, sexual harassment is considered a form of sexual discrimination for which you can seek compensation in the civil justice system.
THE CINCINNATI SEXUAL ABUSE, ASSAULT, AND HARASSMENT LAWYERS AT BURG SIMPSON CAN HELP
Burg Simpson has a national reputation for standing up for individuals in courtrooms across the country. With seven offices in seven states and more than 70 attorneys, Burg Simpson has the experience and resources to fight for you.
The sexual abuse, assault, and harassment attorneys in Burg Simpson’s Cincinnati, Ohio office are part of Burg Simpson’s dynamic team serving the people of Ohio, Kentucky, and the nation. They are here to help you obtain justice.
If you have been the victim of sexual abuse, assault, and/or harassment, time is of the essence. It is extremely important that you speak with a sexual assault lawyer as soon as possible. Contact Burg Simpson right now by filling out a Free Case Evaluation Form, or call us directly at 513-852-5600. We’re here to help.