Children in Vermont deserve to be heard and protected.

Right now, Vermont’s hearsay laws prevent courts from considering many statements made by children who disclose abuse. This means:

When a child tells a doctor, teacher, or trusted adult about abuse, that testimony may be dismissed as “hearsay.”

Children may be forced to testify directly in front of their alleged abuser — often a parent — causing re-traumatization and silencing them.

Even when proper steps are followed and professionals document disclosures, those records often cannot be used in court. 

This is unacceptable! We teach our children to speak up, to trust adults, and to believe that their voices matter. But when the legal system silences those voices, it not only undermines justice but also endangers children.

We, the undersigned, call on the Vermont Legislature to urgently reform the state’s hearsay laws to better protect children in cases of abuse. This should include:

• Expanding exceptions to hearsay rules for child disclosures of abuse.
  
  
• Allowing testimony and/or written reports from doctors, therapists, teachers, and other mandated reporters about what children disclose to them.
  
  
• Creating safe, trauma-informed procedures for children’s statements to be entered into evidence without requiring their direct testimony in court.                                                         

No child should have to face their abuser in court simply to be believed. Vermont must modernize its laws to ensure that children’s voices are heard and protected.

Please join us in demanding action from our lawmakers to protect Vermont’s most vulnerable residents.

Sign this petition to urge Vermont lawmakers to act now.