New York gives abuse survivors more legal room

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill Tuesday that gives adult sexual assault survivors who missed legal deadlines the ability to sue their alleged abusers in civil court. Ordinarily, states impose deadlines, or statutes of limitations, on how long someone can wait to sue because witnesses’ memories fade and evidence is lost. But advocates for survivors argue that it takes time for victims to be able to talk about their experiences, causing many to miss the state’s five-year deadline. The new law sets aside the statute of limitations for one year, starting six months from now. 

Do other states have something similar? New York is the second state, after New Jersey, to pass a bill like this. It’s modeled after the state’s now-expired Child Victims Act that, during 2020 and 2021, gave anyone who had been abused when they were 18 or younger the ability to sue even if it happened decades ago. By the time that window closed, more than 9,000 lawsuits had been filed, many against institutions like churches, schools, summer camps, and scout groups. California has a similar law in place now, and cases filed in the two states could take years to litigate.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson’s report in Relations about a record settlement between abuse survivors and a Roman Catholic diocese in New Jersey.