Survivors and Advocates Rail Against Senate Republicans’ Child Victim “Fund”
Survivors and advocates push for Child Victims Act
With just six days left in the current legislative session, The Coalition to Pass the Child Victims Act (CVA) released a video pushing for the only legislation in New York that would provide real justice to survivors of childhood sexual abuse, The Child Victims Act (A.5885/S6575).
In May, Senator Cathy Young introduced legislation with no firm legal footing that would establish a fund to partially compensate survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Named the New York Child Victim Reconciliation and Compensation Fund, the bill would attempt to raid an existing fund currently earmarked to, amongst other things, reduce the national backlog of untested rape kits. The bill shields institutions from liability, and therefore denies survivors the right to hold their abusers accountable in a court of law. Accountability is at the heart of the Child Victims Act, and it must be included in any statute of limitations reform effort in order to be effective.
Survivors and advocates released the following statement in response to Young’s bill:
“This bill is about PR, not policy. Variations of this idea were pitched to us in January and again in March during budget negotiations. Our coalition, which represents thousands of survivors across New York State, rejected it then and we reject it now. A properly structured and adequately resourced fund (which Sen. Young’s bill does not include) would be a fine addition to the New York State Budget next year, after the real Child Victims Act passes. If legislators want to help survivors, legislators should listen to survivors. A one-house bill that shields institutions from liability and accountability is not the solution we need. It is the epitome of playing politics and what’s worse, it is doing so at the expense of the safety and well-being of children and survivors throughout New York State.”
The above statement can be attributed to:
Christopher Bromson, Executive Director, Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims
Crime Victims Treatment Center
Susan Dooha, Executive Director, Center for the Independence of the Disabled, NY
Deb Rosen, survivor, Rochester
Bivona Child Advocacy Center
Asher Lovy, survivor, Brooklyn
Amelia Fallon, survivor and mother, Albany
Melanie Blow, survivor, Rochester
Jason Gough, survivor, Delmar
Christopher Gavagan, survivor, director of Coached into Silence documentary
Brian Toale, survivor, Manhattan
Kathyrn Robb, survivor and co-founder of New Yorkers Against Hidden Predators
Mary Ellen O’Loughlin, survivor, Saratoga Springs
Tom Andriola, survivor, Guilderland
Thomas Travers, survivor, Buffalo
Paige Jones, mother and advocate, Clarksville
Victor and Mary DeSantis, parents of survivor
Additional quotes provided by coalition members:
“For years, opponents of the Child Victims Act said survivors of child sexual abuse had no right to bring retroactive civil cases to court because of faulty memories or unreliable witnesses. Senator Young’s misguided proposal to use asset forfeiture funding to shield institutions from civil liability makes it clear that the concern all along has been about protecting these institutions’ bottom line. Any legislative effort to address sexual violence against children must include true accountability – in criminal and civil proceedings — for offenders. We urge Senator Young and her colleagues to bring the full Child Victims Act to a vote before the current legislative session ends. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse deserve no less.”
Michael Polenberg, VP of Government Affairs for Safe Horizon
“The biggest problem with this bill is that it does nothing to remediate the culture of silence around sexual abuse or to hold institutions accountable. While there are positives, it seems overwhelmingly similar to the payoff fund used by the Catholic Church to quietly pay off victims and make them go away. The only way that true change will happen is by bringing attention to the abuse and sending a strong message to survivors that it is okay to come forward and that they are not alone. Sexual abuse thrives in a culture of silence and secrecy, and ending that silence should be a goal of any legislation in this area. It is important that survivors be able to pursue justice in whatever way they define it- a payoff fund seems to assume that they are only seeking monetary compensation, which may not be the definition of justice for all.”
Paige Jones, mother & advocate, Clarksville
“Senator Young is negotiating with the man with the PAC and his Republican insider lobbyist, and not the coalitions representing thousands of advocates, clients and survivors statewide. That should tell you about her priorities. Beside the fact that proposal has multiple implementation issues, it does nothing to hold those who harmed children accountable for their evil acts and harms innocent taxpayers in the process. It’s a shameful and cynical approach to try to make this issue go away. She’s not fooling many. I am utterly confounded that so much effort is dedicated to avoiding real SOL reform in an effort to protect child abusers.”
Mary Ellen O’Loughlin, survivor, Saratoga Springs
“You cannot get to reconciliation until you first get to truth, and you cannot get to truth unless you have justice and accountability. This bill protects the wrongdoers, not the victims. Victims are not seeking money before all else, they are seeking justice and the light of truth.”
Kathryn Robb, survivor, Long Island
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.
