Fayetteville Sexual Abuse Lawyer

Sexual abuse cases are on the rise in Fayetteville, with cases of rape and other forms of sexual assault rising year over year. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help victims get the justice they deserve. We are committed to supporting abuse survivors in Fayetteville, providing them with the best legal representation to get the compensation they deserve.

Why Choose Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers provide the best legal representation in Fayetteville to help sexual assault victims recover compensation for their pain, suffering, and abuse. Our compassionate legal team works with our clients, listening to their unique needs before developing a case to help them receive the highest financial compensation.

Through our relentless pursuit of justice, we help ensure medical expenses, therapy costs, lost wages, and emotional distress are covered. Our experienced team of sexual abuse lawyers fights on your behalf, protecting your rights and championing your financial recovery to help you heal. 

Understanding Sexual Abuse and Assault

Arkansas defines sexual assault as sexual contact with another by forcible compulsion, with someone who is incapable of consent, or with a minor. They are non-consensual sexual acts that could include penetration, intercourse, unwanted touching, or other forms.

Sexual abuse is a broader term. It can include sexual acts or behaviors that are non-consensual. There is a lot of overlap between the two, and they are centered around a lack of consent. You did not ask for sexual advances. Instead, someone else wielded their power over you to force unwanted sexual attention on you. 

The Various Forms of Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse is broad, and some may not even realize they are a victim of it. Common forms include:

• Statutory rape is nonconsensual penetration, often achieved through force or coercion.
• Sexual harassment is unwanted verbal, physical, or visual sexual advances. You can be the victim of sexual harassment even if no physical action has been taken.
• Stalking is a pattern of behavior where one individual follows and often harasses another.
• Exhibitionism is where someone exposes themselves in public to others, often for sexual gratification.
• Voyeurism is when someone watches another in a sexual or private setting without their knowledge or consent. 
• Child sexual abuse is the assault of a minor by an adult or another minor.
• Incest is sexual contact between family members.

Institutions Where Sexual Abuse Is Most Likely to Occur

Sexual assault and abuse can happen anywhere, but it is more common where there are specific power dynamics in play. We handle a variety of cases, specializing in these institutions:

• Professional settings include places like your workplace.
• Inpatient treatment facilities, where patients are often seeking support for debilitating physical or mental health issues.
• Prisons, juvenile detention centers, and correctional facilities where people are incarcerated. Sexual assault can occur between inmates or staff members.
• Foster care, where children can face abuse from their foster families or others in the system.
• Shelters, where people often flee to get away from other abusive situations.
• Daycare facilities and nursing homes are where people pay to get care and treatment.
• Educational institutions, where people can face sexual abuse from teachers, staff members, coaches, students, and peers.
• Religious institutions where people are using the power imbalance or threats of religious consequences to sexually assault others. Clergy abuse has become more frequently reported over the last few decades. 
• Military institutions, often between individuals and their superiors and peers. It can be so severe that it turns into military sexual trauma and may even lead to being discharged.
• Hotels and short-term rentals, where staff members and locals violate people’s sense of security.

Steps to Take If You Are a Victim

If you are a victim of sexual abuse or sexual assault, it is critical you take steps to safeguard your personal safety and security immediately. 

• Remove yourself from the situation. Do what you can to make sure you are safe.
• Once you’re safe, document the abuse. Write down the date, time, location, what happened, witnesses, and any other details you can remember. If it happened more than once, write all instances down. You can file a report with your local police department, school officials, human resources department, or whoever is the authority where the sexual assault happened.
• Contact a lawyer to receive a confidential consultation. Our team of sexual abuse lawyers can help you navigate the legal system. We will ask you questions about what happened, and your documentation can give us a great start to our investigation. We will discuss your options for pursuing a civil case and criminal charges.  
• Talk to someone. Find a therapist or counselor. If you’re a student at the University of Arkansas, you can visit the Sexual and Relationship Violence Center. You can also connect with the NWA Center for Sexual Assault or NWA Women’s Shelter. Talking to someone can help you start your healing journey. 

Compensation for Sexual Abuse Victims

As you’re seeking justice, you can also look to recover compensation for the physical and emotional trauma you suffered. Depending on your sexual assault case, you may be eligible to receive compensation in the following areas.

• Medical expenses, including hospital bills, STD testing and treatment, pregnancy costs, and more.;
• Emotional trauma, including therapy, counseling, and mental health treatment;
• Pain and suffering may be intangible, but it’s just as important as the financial expenses you incurred as a result of the sexual assault or abuse;
• Lost wages include any past, current, or future wages that were lost as a result of the abuse; 
• Punitive damages are meant to punish the offender and deter them from reoffending. 

Not every sexual assault case will qualify for the same compensation. The amount you can expect depends on several different factors, including:

• Severity of abuse
• Length of abuse
• Impact of the abuse
• The age of the victim
• Evidence

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers are here to help you navigate the legal process. Our law firm can help you receive compensation for your sexual abuse or sexual assault cases. We pride ourselves on advocating for survivors and guiding them as they pursue justice to receive rightful compensation. 

Liability in Sexual Abuse Cases

Liability is another word for responsibility. It is our job as your law firm to show the other party or parties are liable for the sexual assault or abuse. This can be an individual or an institution. 

Institutions can be held liable for:

• Negligence, or failure to prevent the abuse
• Failure to report incidents
• Inadequate responses to complaints

If you have taken steps to report the abuse that happened to you, the institution should be taking action to investigate and prevent it from happening again. However, many institutions can be complicit in the abuse. 

They may have created the environment that made the sexual activity possible, and it’s easier not to take action than it is to fix it. Perhaps they have insufficient background checks, and their staff are assaulting others. They can also have poor supervision or unsafe working conditions where there are threats to a person’s physical and sexual safety.

Because of this, they can be named in cases, and you can also receive compensation from them. In Arkansas, they can be held vicariously liable, which means they can be held responsible for another’s action, even if they didn’t directly cause it.

Additionally, institutions like the University of Arkansas are subject to Title IX regulations, which prohibit discrimination of others based on sex and other protected characteristics. Title IX can also cover sexual assault and sexual abuse, and any program that receives federal funding should take swift action if any assault occurs. 

However, that’s not always the case, and our Fayetteville sexual abuse lawyers can help hold the University of Arkansas and other federally funded institutions accountable for their actions. 

How to Prove a Sexual Abuse Case

Our law firm can help you navigate the legal system as you file your sexual assault case and seek justice against those who have harmed you. You have legal rights and can establish liability in the following three steps. 

• Gather your evidence, especially the documentation you compiled. If others can corroborate your story, give your attorney their names and contact information. 
• Prove negligence or intentional misconduct. Your attorney can help after you provide information on how you reported the assault, what actions were taken by the institution, who you spoke with, and more. The more details you can share, the harder it can be for the institution to cover their actions up.
• Demonstrate the link between the abuse and the harm suffered. The effects of sexual assault and abuse are far-reaching. They don’t always have to be physical harm but can also include emotional distress. Sexual violence changed your life, and you need to show the courts how much. 

The Role of Fayetteville Sexual Abuse Lawyers

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers have a proven track record when it comes to cases involving sexual assault. We can help our clients seek justice for the abuse and sexual assault they suffered. 

• Navigate the legal process, recommending the right legal action based on the sexual assault or sexual abuse that occurred;
• Investigate your claims, explore the details of the case, and obtain more information about the sexual violence that occurred so you don’t have to relive it constantly;
• Represent you in court, advocating on your behalf against the perpetrator, institution, or other defendant. 

Our law firm can be your biggest advocate, championing your rights throughout the legal process. We want to preserve our client’s well-being and help them start the long process of moving on from their sexual violence. 

The Time Limits for Filing a Claim in Fayetteville

An attorney can help you navigate the statute of limitations because it may change based on the circumstances of your sexual assault or abuse. Typically, you have three years to file a claim for most sex crimes, although some may be as long as six years. 

If DNA evidence is uncovered after the statute of limitations runs out, the deadline will be lifted based on the new evidence. The type of assault and the type of claim you are filing may also impact the time you have to file, so consult with an attorney who specializes in sexual assault and abuse, like Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, to learn more.

In 2021, Arkansas made adjustments to its statute of limitations when it comes to child abuse under civil law. Now, victims of sexual abuse as a child can seek justice against individuals and institutions until the age of 55. 

This is a huge win for victims as they previously only had until the age of 21 to pursue any child abuse of a sexual nature.  

Our clients are finally able to receive justice under this new law for various forms of sexual assault and abuse that took place in Fayetteville previously.

Contact a Fayetteville Sexual Abuse Attorney Today!

Contact us to schedule your free consultation today by contacting (888) 424-5757 or filling out the form on our website.