File photo: WEWS.
Violence prevention advocates in Ohio worry that under the proposed legislation, teens who have been sexually abused would have to get parental consent to get emergency support and momentary mental health care.
Some of the most heinous crimes have the most vulnerable victims.
“I was responding to child sexual abuse victims at 2 a.m. in the hospital,” said Emily Gemar of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence. “I held their hand all night long.”
She said thousands of children in Ohio are sexually abused every year. State data shows that the majority of all reported sexual assaults involved children under 18 years of age.
However, many cases go unreported, Gemar said.
“It takes time to build trust with that counselor, that mental health professional, to create an atmosphere where someone feels like they can disclose what happened to them,” she said.
She was thrilled when Gov. Mike DeWine expanded his crisis mental health program. When a child calls the 9-8-8 hotline, they gain access to emergency support – free of charge.
The program also allows teens 14 and older to receive momentary support, including six weeks of counseling, without the consent of a parent or guardian.
Gemar said this is significant in cases of sexual abuse.
“We know that between 35% and 93% of child victims, firstly, knew their perpetrator and, secondly, that perpetrator was a parent or guardian,” she said.
But grandfather and conservative activist John Stover said the program keeps families in the gloomy.
“There is no situation in which a parent should not be notified that their 14-year-old has a mental health problem,” said Stover, who directs Ohio Value Voters.
Some Republican state lawmakers agree with him.
Ohio House Bill 172, sponsored by state Rep. Johnathan Newman, R-Troy, would require parental consent for minors to receive momentary support. Repeals applicable state law authorizing such care.
“We should all want students suffering from mental health issues to get the help they need,” Newman wrote in his testimony before the bill’s first hearing.
“This bill seeks to achieve that goal by maintaining that students’ parents cannot be left out because parents are a child’s authority figure and the most important and important part of a student’s recovery.”
His bill is intended to mirror language passed by the last General Assembly’s HB 8, a provision requiring schools to notify parents if a child identifies as LGBTQ+ or has mental health issues.
“You cannot have two separate programs where parents are notified in one situation if it occurs at school and not notified if it is another circumstance outside of school,” Stover said.
Stover said the bill would not prevent perpetrators of violence from being caught. He said mandatory reporting requirements would come into force – mental health professionals would have to notify police, who would then investigate the parents.
“There is no argument here,” Stover said.
The Gemar warns, however, that coincidences do not always work this way.
“If a parent rapes a 14-year-old, he or she should ask the parent who is raping her for permission to see a doctor,” Gemar said.
“Punishment, threats, or more physical or sexual violence may result.”
She said if the bill becomes law, it will close the door on teenagers being able to safely seek support.
The Ohio Domestic Violence Network, along with Gemar, is expected to testify against this legislation this week.
If you or someone you know is in an unsafe situation or needs support due to sexual or domestic violence, you are not alone. There are plenty of resources available.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
Call the statewide sexual assault hotline at 1-844-OHIO-HELP (1-844-644-6435) or your local rape crisis center which can be found by clicking here. Additional financial and information resources can be found on the website ODVN website here.
You can reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline by texting START to 88788 or calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). ODVN can be reached during business hours at 1-800-934-9840 or 614-781-9651.
For a list of programs and shelters in Ohio, please click here.
Call 988 to access the national and statewide crisis and suicide hotline.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau X AND Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
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