270: Fighting Back Against Abuse with Sarah Klein

Sarah Klein is a preeminent civil and trial attorney who specializes in representing sexual abuse survivors and a nationally renowned advocate for legal, cultural, and political change for the support for the victims of sexual abuse. A former competitive gymnast, Klein is also the first known victim of former Olympic women’s gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar. At the July 2018 ESPY Awards, Klein accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award on behalf of herself and the hundreds of other survivors who spoke out and testified about Nassar’s abuse. Klein’s legal practice is focused on representation of victims of sexual abuse by perpetrators under the aegis of powerful institutions including school districts, sport federations, entertainment conglomerates, churches, youth organizations, and Fortune 500 companies. She is also actively spearheading the fight to extend the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse victims across all 50 states. Sarah is an alumna of Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Global Entrepreneurship program. She sits on the Board of Directors of CHILD USAdvocacy, a national organization committed to protecting children’s civil liberties and keeping children safe from abuse. She also sits on the Board of Yale University’s Sports Equity Lab, pursuing research that can inform policies around safe sporting environments and help fight abuse, in all forms,for all athletes. Through her significant experience in lawyering some of the country’s highest profile cases,Klein has become a leading voice on sexual abuse and other legal issues on television, radio,and in print media including ESPN, NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, NPR, The New York Times, TheWashington Post, and USA Today. Sarah hosts a weekly podcast called Bar Fights: Taking On Issues That Matter on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartMEDIA, Audacy and Stitcher. In this episode, you will learn: How to notice a predator early on How to educate your children on what to avoid Why victims need more support