Posts Tagged: victims

Podcast

Victim of a violent crime? California may have money for you.

Crime scene photo

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: In the wake of the horrific January 21 shooting that killed 11 people in Monterey Park, Gov. Newsom visited hospitalized survivors.  His conversation with one patient revealed an added stress for survivors of gun violence and other violent crime: the inability to cover expenses incurred or wages lost due to the incident.

Opinion

COVID-19: Yet more pain for human trafficking victims

Photo illustration of a child victim of human trafficking. (Photo: 271 EAK MOTO)

As many Californians struggle with the effects of COVID-19, what this pandemic means for human trafficking victims is their abusers have yet another way to coerce and exploit. Before COVID-19, victims already faced extreme barriers to safety, health services, and employment; now, they are vulnerable to even greater unrelenting abuse.

News

Bipartisan Capitol push for rape crisis center funding

The state Capitol in Sacramento, late in the day. (Photo: Adonis Villanueva, via Shutterstock)

A bipartisan group of state legislators are urging increased funding for California’s 84 rape crisis centers as reports of sexual assault and domestic violence rise under COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders.

News

New California law eases path for sexual abuse victims

A young boy dealing with the aftermath of abuse. (Photo: 271 EAK MOTO, via Shutterstock)

Sexual abuse victims with decades-old claims say they are grateful to finally get a shot at justice through a new California law that widens the period in which civil claims can be filed. The law, AB 218, went into effect Jan. 1. It allows a three-year “look back” window when victims can file civil claims regardless of when their abuse took place. In cases where the child became a victim because of an institutional coverup, the victim can collect triple the damages.

News

PG&E by any other name: Golden State Power Light & Gas?

A utility worker handles repairs on a power pole. (Photo: Richard Thornton, via Shutterstock)

PG&E’s reputation has been so battered over its wildfire liabilities and other problems that some think it should change its name. A group of bondholders trying to take over the utility company has proposed that they re-brand it to Golden State Power Light & Gas Co. They made the proposal during proceedings in PG&E’s bankruptcy court case earlier this year.

Opinion

Getting traumatized — again — after violent crime

Crime victim survivors at gathering in Sacramento called Survivors Speak 2019. (Photo: Survivors Speak 2019)

OPINION: My son Tre’ was killed in a shooting in South Sacramento when he was just 21 years old. At the time, I was in a body cast and bedridden, recovering from back surgery.No one buys life insurance on a healthy 21-year-old child. But there I was having to do the unimaginable, bury my youngest child, while trying to recover from surgery, support my children and prepare for my return to the work I love.

Opinion

Does new bill hurt USC victims?

On the USC campus, a view of the Suzanne Dowark Peck School of Social Work. (Photo: Kit Leong, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: Last fall, the University of Southern California (USC) settled a federal class-action lawsuit filed by women alleging sexual misconduct by the former head gynecologist at the student health center, George Tyndall. Regarded by many as one of the largest settlements of its kind, the $215 million federal settlement covered every one of Tyndall’s USC patients who received women’s health services during a specific period.

Opinion

Clemency for the condemned? Remember the victims

The execution chamber at San Quentin State Prison. (Photo: Wikipedia)

OPINION: Democrats ask that as California Gov. Jerry Brown leaves office he provide mercy to California’s 739 death row inmates. The governor of California has the power to issue pardons, commute sentences or grant clemency to individuals convicted of crimes in the state.  The state Legislature does not review this power. 

News

Disclosing sexual misconduct — or not

State Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, on the Senate floor. (Photo: Screen capture, YouTube)

Chantal Cousineau said the disclosures started like a whisper. Over the years, she had discussed her experience working with James Toback on the film “Harvard Man” in 2000. But this fall, after allegations about producer Harvey Weinstein emerged, Cousineau sent a tweet: “Can we talk about #JamesToback next?”

Opinion

Crime survivors urge new priorities

Crime survivors gather Tuesday at the state Capitol in Sacramento. (Photo: Rally organizers)

OPINION: Today, April 4, during National Victim Rights’ Week, nearly 500 hundred crime survivors were gathering in Sacramento to share our stories, honor our loved ones and call for new safety priorities. From mothers who have lost loved ones to young men experiencing violence in our communities, we are coming together to call for change.

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