B'nei Brak Posek: Report Abuse Accusations Immediately, Force Payment for Therapy

R' Daniel Idensohn, on his "Daas Torah" blog, posts a teshuva (responsum) from B'nei Brak posek Rav Yehuda Silman from the current issue of the Yeshurun Torah journal. In it R' Silman paskens (later in the article, after the page posted) that abusers can be forced, according to halacha to pay for their damage in the form of covering sexual abuse victims' therapy costs. (Here's his translation.)


In addition, Rav Silman makes a fundamental point (on pictured page, third paragraph from bottom, "...וי“א להיפוך") that, given the way many of our communities currently handle such cases, is quite radical. In deciding whether to report an allegation of abuse to the secular authorities, not only does on need to consult a beis din (halachic rabbinical court)—or even obtain a psak halacha from a rav—but it is actually more advisable to not become delayed by those steps! Rather, one should go straight to the authorities who have the legal auspices and practical capacities to address the issue in a way that rabbonim and talmidei chachomim do not.