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June 23, 2025

*** Legislation Alert ***

Pass the Prevention Package in Massachusetts!

two women sit at a table with microphones

Photo by James Bartlett, MA State House

Senator Joan Lovely (left) and Enough Abuse E.D., Jetta Bernier (right)
testify at the Joint Committee on the Judiciary Hearing June 17th.

Thank you to all of the survivors and advocates who came out to the
Massachusetts State House or testified virtually on Tuesday, June 17th in
support of the child sexual abuse "Prevention Package!" Check out recent
press coverage:

[2]'The law should protect young people': Legislators hear arguments for
closing loophole that allows teachers to have sex with 16-year-old
students, The Berkshire Eagle

[3]Lawmakers urged to pass child sexual abuse prevention bills, The Eagle
Tribune

If you were not able to make it, there is still time to submit written
testimony in support. There is no specific deadline or length limit for
written testimony, however, now that the hearing date has passed, it is
better to submit it sooner rather than later.

When submitting testimony, it is best to write in the email subject line
"JUDICIARY [or EDUCATION] COMIMTTEE TESTIMONY in support of [bill number].
Then attach your testimony as a Word document or PDF. The Committees also
ask that you include your name, organization (if applicable) and contact
information. You can share a personal story about how child sexual abuse
has affected the lives of you and your loved ones, or factual evidence you
may have about why these bills are essential to protect our children.

To download a template written testimony that you can customize, click the
links below:

[4]Template Judiciary Committee Testimony

[5]Template Education Committee Testimony

To submit written testimony regarding Senate Judiciary
Committee bills, email [6][email protected].

To submit written testimony regarding House Judiciary Committee
bills, email [7][email protected].

[8]Judiciary Committee Hearing webpage (where you can watch the hearing
recording).

Written testimony for the Education Committee bills should be submitted
to Fiona Bruce-Baiden at [9][email protected] and Emily
Reynolds at [10][email protected].

For the Education Committee hearing recording, [11]click here.

Legislative Briefing July 26th

Interested citizens are welcome to attend this Legislative Briefing hosted
by Senator Joan Lovely's office at the MA Sate House, Room 428 on Thursday,
July 26th 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM.

Survivors, child advocates and District Attorneys will be on hand to
discuss the various child sexual abuse prevention bills and how crucial
passage is this session.

"Prevention Package" bills in the Judiciary Committee:

S.1163/H.1634 - An Act relative to sexual assaults by adults in positions
of authority or trust, Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Leigh Davis

Criminalizes sexual abuse by adults in positions of authority with minors
in their care, and allows for civil lawsuits against them.

H.1733 - An Act relative to the age of consent in certain criminal
prosecutions and civil actions for sexual assault and rape of a child
and H.1734 - An Act relative to preventing educator sexual misconduct and
abuse of children/youth - Rep. Ken Gordon

Criminalizes sexual abuse of students under 19 who haven't received a H.S.
diploma by school, college, youth serving organization or department
employees and allows for lawsuits against them.

H.1593/S.1174 An Act protecting minors from the creation of
computer-generated child sexual abuse visual materials - Rep. Natalie
Blais and Sen. Paul Mark

To address the exponentially growing problem of online child sexual abuse
material (CSAM), this bill would enable prosecution of people for
developing and sharing sexually explicit images of children that are
technologically edited, collaged, morphed or AI-generated, including sexual
"deepfakes" of children.

S.1166 - An Act relative to enhancing hiring practices to prevent sexual
abuse - Sen. Lovely

Requires screening of school employees through enhanced reference checks to
prevent hiring abusers

S.1165 - An Act amending the statute of limitations regarding criminal
prosecutions for the crimes of sexual assault and rape of a child - Sen.
Lovely

Eliminates the criminal Statute of Limitations (SOL)

S.1169 - An Act enhancing remedies for survivors of childhood sexual abuse
- Sen. Lovely

Eliminates the civil SOL and eliminates the $100K cap on negligence damages
for institutions in child sexual abuse cases.

H.1832 - An Act relative to preventing the sexual abuse of children and
youth, aka, The Comprehensive Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act of 2025 -
Rep. Lawn

Requires CSAP education and policies in schools, school employee screening,
criminalizes adults in positions of authority who sexually abuse minors in
their care and prohits age of consent as a defense)

Please see the [12]"Prevention Package" bill summary for more details about
the bills being heard (the committees are listed next to the bills).

"Prevention Package" Bills in the Education Committee:

H.516 "An Act establishing employee screening requirements in schools to
prevent child sexual abuse" would prevent school from hiring abusers by
requiring enhanced reference checks (companion bill to S.1166 in
Judiciary).

S.405 "An Act stopping harm inflicted by the exploitation of life and
development" would require child sexual abuse prevention education for
staff and students in schools and the adoption of a Code of Conduct to
prevent child sexual abuse

S.404 "An Act relative to supporting survivors of child sexual abuse" would
enhance opportunities for justice in CSA cases involving sports or
nonprofit institutions.

To learn more about the "Prevention Package" bills and their
history, [13]click here to visit our Citizens to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse
webpage.

Passing bills, even those that face little or no opposition, can be
daunting. By banding together, we can create a powerful megaphone to ensure
that these crucial bills become law and that children can be better
protected from sexual abuse and exploitation.

The fight continues...

Jetta Bernier, Executive Director

ENOUGH ABUSE®, formerly Massachusetts Citizens for Children, dba MassKids,
is the nation’s oldest citizen-based child advocacy organization, with a
6-decade history of improving the lives of vulnerable children. We prevent
the sexual abuse of children in their homes, communities and online through
prevention trainings, education and advocacy.

[14]Donate

Contact ENOUGH ABUSE®
[15]Facebook [16]X [17]Instagram

[18]www.enoughabuse.org - [19][email protected] - [20](617) 742-8555

References

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3. [link removed] Tribune 6-18 State House News -Lawmakers urged to pass child sex abuse prevention bills.pdf
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