Coming Forward as a Survivor in Maryland: Anonymity, Process, and What Suing Actually Looks Like
In April, Maryland enacted the Child Victims Act, and beginning October 1, 2023, there will be no deadline — none — for survivors of child sexual abuse to bring a civil case. We wrote about the law itself when it was signed. This post is about something different: the questions survivors actually ask us, quietly, when they are thinking about coming forward. What does suing really involve? Will everyone know my name? Do I have to face them? Who is in control?
These are the right questions. Here are honest answers.
"Will everyone know my name?"
Not necessarily. Maryland courts have discretion to allow a survivor to proceed under a pseudonym — "Jane Doe" or "John Doe" — where the case involves matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature, and sexual abuse is the paradigm example. Beyond pseudonymous filing, courts can enter protective orders restricting how records are shared, seal particularly sensitive filings, and limit the use of personal information to the litigation itself. Settlements are frequently confidential.
None of this is automatic, and anonymity has edges — the defendant will know who you are, because due process requires it. But there is a meaningful difference between the institution's lawyers knowing your name and your name appearing in public court records, and experienced counsel builds those protections into the case from the first filing.
"What does the process actually look like?"
A civil case unfolds in stages, and the early ones are entirely private:
1. Consultation. Everything you tell a lawyer is confidential and privileged — whether or not you ever file. Many survivors talk to us and decide to wait. That is a legitimate outcome. 2. Investigation. Before anything is filed, your legal team works to corroborate the case from the outside in: institutional records, personnel files, prior complaints, witnesses. Survivors are often surprised how much proof exists beyond their own memory. 3. Filing. The complaint states what happened in measured, factual terms. You control, with your counsel, how much detail it contains. 4. Discovery. Both sides exchange documents and take depositions. Yes, you will likely be deposed — with preparation, with your lawyer beside you, with legal limits on harassment, and often with agreed protections around the most sensitive subjects. It is a serious day. It is also survivable, and survivors frequently describe it afterward as less terrible than the version they had imagined. 5. Resolution. The great majority of civil cases resolve by settlement rather than trial. If a trial does come, it comes after months of preparation, and you will not walk into it alone.
"Do I have to prove it happened to me alone?"
No. Institutional cases are usually built on the institution's own paper — transfer records, complaint files, meeting minutes — and on patterns involving other survivors. Your testimony matters, but it does not carry the case by itself.
"What about my therapy records?"
Maryland law recognizes a privilege protecting communications with mental-health providers, and while a lawsuit that puts your emotional harm at issue can open some of that door, courts police the boundary. This is a nuanced area your lawyer should discuss with you candidly before filing, so nothing about it surprises you later.
"Is there a deadline I should worry about?"
Under the Child Victims Act, no statute of limitations will bar a civil child sexual abuse claim once the law takes effect on October 1, 2023 — regardless of when the abuse occurred. Two honest caveats. First, institutions are expected to mount legal challenges to the new law's revival of older claims, and survivors should choose counsel who will track those fights. Second, deadlines are not the only clocks: witnesses age, records get lost, institutions dissolve. Taking your time is your right; getting quiet advice early costs you nothing and preserves your options.
What this means for survivors in Maryland
Control is the through-line. You decide whether to consult a lawyer. You decide whether and when to file. You participate in decisions about anonymity, about settlement, about trial. A civil case cannot undo what happened — what it can do is shift a real measure of accountability, and often the cost of therapy and care, onto the people and institutions responsible. For some survivors that matters enormously. For others, the answer is not yet, or not ever. Both answers deserve respect, and any lawyer worth your trust will give it.
If you are not ready to talk to a lawyer, support exists outside the legal system as well — including the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673, which is free and confidential.
If you or a loved one has been hurt, call Posey Lebowitz at (202) 524-0123 or send us a message for a free consultation.
Part of our DMV case law archive, compiled in 2026 to reflect the archive of some of the most important decisions in injury law.
Update: The Child Victims Act was upheld by the Supreme Court of Maryland on February 3, 2025. Later that year, the General Assembly reduced the Act's damages caps for cases filed on or after June 1, 2025 — see what the rollback means for pending and future cases.