Senate Majority Fails Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse Legislative session ends without a vote on Child Victims Act 

 

Senate Majority Fails Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Legislative session ends without a vote on Child Victims Act 

 

Late Thursday morning the New York State Legislature wrapped up the 2018 session without passing the Child Victims Act: legislation that would expand the statute of limitation for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and provide a one-year look back window for survivors of any age to bring their abusers to justice.

In response, Michael Polenberg, VP of Government Affairs at Safe Horizon issued the following statement:

“Yet again, Senate Republicans have failed to hold even a single hearing on the Child Victims Act, a bill that passed with by an overwhelming bi-partisan majority in the state assembly. In their inaction, the Senate leadership failed to broaden the path to justice for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. For over a decade, survivors and advocates have traveled to Albany to plead with lawmakers for a basic, fundamental right: to hold their abusers accountable in a court of law. While the #MeToo movement has centered the experience of sexual assault survivors, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan and his conference continue to protect institutions from liability instead of aligning with survivors seeking justice.”

Background:

The Child Victims Act (CVA) would bring meaningful statute of limitations (SOL) reform for survivors of childhood sex abuse, allowing them to hold their abusers accountable in court. The bill has been introduced every year for 12 years, and last year passed the Assembly with overwhelming bi-partisan support. The bill has never made it to the Senate floor for a vote.

Although Governor Cuomo and the NY Assembly included the Child Victims Act in their proposed budgets this year, it was not included in the final budget. Last month, the Assembly passed the bill with overwhelming bi-partisan support.

According to a recent Quinnipiac College poll, 90% of New Yorkers support the bill.

The CVA would do the following:

·      Increase the criminal statute of limitations prospectively;
·      Increase the civil statute of limitations prospectively;
·      Remove special protections for public institutions that have acted as a shield against liability; and
·      Create a one-year look-back window to allow survivors with expired claims to go to court.

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Author: Harlem Valley News