One week after the Senate Judiciary Committee acted, the House Judiciary Committee acted on HR 1973 to address recent reports of sexual abuse of Olympic athletes. The bill however differs from the Senate version which passed Committee on Thursday, May 11. That bill the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse Act, S 534, endorsed by CWLA, would require mandated reporting of child abuse by amateur athletic governing bodies and protections for youth in one on one training circumstances.
The House bill has a different standard regarding the statute of limitation on the reporting of sexual abuse. The Senate version ties the statute of limitations for victim reporting to the victim-discovery or the age of 28 (whichever is latest) while the House bill would modify language around the discovery of victimization. The House bill also contains weaker protections for one on one training circumstances.
The legislation is an outgrowth of reports of sexual abuse of some past members of the USA Olympic Gymnastics teams. Under the legislation, USA Gymnastics would have to implement and enforce policies to ensure coaches and personnel are trained in sexual abuse prevention.
