After Senate Passes Adult Survivors Act, Advocates Call on Speaker Heastie to Move Bill ASAP

NEW YORK, NY (06/04/2021) (readMedia)-- On Friday, Safe Horizon, survivors and lawmakers called on Speaker Heastie to pass the Adult Survivors Act before the legislative session ends next week. Lawmakers have only four session days left to pass the bill. The Sexual Harassment Working Group, Model Alliance and other advocates joined to rally for legislators to open a lookback window to time-barred survivors who were over the age of 18 at the time of their abuse. The Adult Survivors Act is based on the Child Victims Act.

The bill passed the Senate yesterday with bipartisan support of 62 votes.

WATCH HERE.

Safe Horizon launched a PSA in support of the Adult Survivors Act last month, available to watch here.

"We work with survivors of sexual assault every single day and know first-hand that it is only very recently that our laws have begun to catch up with the realities of trauma. Because of that, too many survivors were denied the chance to seek justice in the courts. Passage of the Adult Survivors Act will finally give these survivors an important path to justice and healing," said Liz Roberts, CEO, Safe Horizon.

"Safe Horizon is extremely grateful for the leadership of Senator Brad Hoylman in advancing the Adult Survivors Act, a bill to create a one-year civil window for time-barred individuals who were sexually assaulted as adults. Over the last two years, the legislature has recognized that New York's statutes of limitations for survivors of sexual violence were not aligned with how survivors process trauma. By passing the Child Victims Act and the prospective extension of the civil and criminal statute of limitations for most felony sex offenses, the legislature made New York's laws more reflective of survivors' experiences. The Adult Survivor Act would expand pathways to justice for the one category of survivors currently left out by these reforms. We thank Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and every member of the Senate who voted for this bill, and we urge the Assembly to pass the ASA, sponsored by M/A Linda B. Rosenthal, immediately," said Michael Polenberg, VP of Government Affairs for Safe Horizon.

"People with disabilities have experienced abuse by doctors or therapists. They have been silent because they needed treatment and had a limited number of practitioners available to them. They feared rejection and retaliation by the practitioners they turned to for help. The Adult Survivors Act provides an extension of the statute of limitation. This allows more time to process the ordeal and overcome fears of coming forward. We are grateful for the Senate's leadership on this issue and ask the Assembly to also move the bill to the floor for a vote," said Center for the Independence of the Disabled Executive Director Susan Dooha.

"We know that victims of sexual assault may not disclose what happened to them for many years or even decades. They may feel silenced, powerless, ashamed or struggle with coming to terms with the fact that such a heinous act was committed against them. When these victims come forward, it is important to provide these victims with an opportunity for recourse. It's also important to provide a pathway to some form of recourse for victims who did come forward at the time of the offense, but weren't believed or supported. Allowing adult victims of sexual assault, whose claims are time-barred under current law, a one year look back window to purse a civil claim is an important step forward. We applaud Senator Brad Hoylman, the cosponsors of this bill, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart- Cousins and all who voted to pass the Adult Survivors Act in the New York State Senate. We also thank Assembly member Linda Rosenthal and all of the co-sponsors for sponsoring this bill in the New York State Assembly. We urge the New York State Assembly to pass this bill as well and for the Governor to sign it into law," said Selena Bennett-Chambers, Director of Public Policy, New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

"By passing the Adult Survivors Act today the Senate has unequivocally said that no matter their age, each victim deserves to be heard. As one of more than 200 women seeking justice in a case against a former Columbia University OB/GYN, I experienced systemic failures to protect women, girls, and pregnant patients during some of the most intimate and vulnerable periods of our lives. In order to stop serial sexual abuse, we need a public reckoning for those institutions that fraudulently conceal such violence. We now look to the Assembly to pass the Adult Survivors Act this session and show survivors that they matter, that we all matter," said Marissa Hoechstetter, survivor.

"Many survivors in the fashion industry are time-barred from seeking justice. By passing the Adult Survivors Act, the Senate affirms that all survivors deserve a pathway to justice, no matter how old they were or how long ago the abuse occurred. The Model Alliance commends this important step and urges the Assembly to follow suit before the legislative session ends," said Sara Ziff, Executive Director Model Alliance.

"We applaud the New York legislature for moving this important reform ahead and recognizing that adults who were victims of sexual violence deserve their opportunity to have justice and their day in court. No matter when an individual was abused, every survivor's story can help warn others about abusers and enablers and help prevent future cases from happening in the first place. The ASA is a critical step in the right direction and we hope this law will encourage others who were victimized in the past to come forward and get the help and healing they need," said Zach Hiner, Executive Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

"The passage of the Child Victims Act had a profound impact on me, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. After 20 years of running blindly from what happened to me, followed by 25 years of struggling to heal from its effects, I finally had a way to seek justice. But I was abused when I was 16 and 17 years of age. If I had been but a few months older, I would not have been any more able to defend myself against the treachery of my abuser but would now have no path to find justice. Adult survivors need the ASA as much as we needed the CVA," said Brian Toale, Survivor/Advocate, Manhattan SNAP Leader.

"The survivors the Junior Leagues work with need pathways to justice and we need a mechanism to hold accountable negligent institutions who cover up abuse committed by people under their purview. It is unacceptable for organizations in our communities to continue to allow their employees and members to commit sexual assaults. We thank the Senate Majority, Senate sponsor Brad Hoylman and Leader Stewart-Cousins for passing the Adult Survivors Act today and urge the Assembly to pass the ASA for the health and well-being of survivors and the safety and security of our communities," said Katelyn Galbraith, Chair, New York State Public Affairs Committee of the Junior Leagues

"A classmate and I were both sexually abused by the same coach. We were born the same year. However, my classmate was just under 18 years old and has been granted access to the courts under the New York Child Victims Act. But, the sexual abuse perpetrated against me happened just a few months past my 18th birthday. Now forty years later, with the statute of limitations long passed, only one of us can pursue the justice and closure we deserve. That's why we're fighting for the Adult Survivors Act to remedy this injustice. The pain and damage inflicted on sexual assault victims lasts a lifetime. The distinction in the statute of limitations between child and adult is arbitrary at best, and exploitative at worst, because in the end, it serves no real purpose except to let perpetrators walk away without facing any consequences for their actions," said Robert Bender – Sexual Assault Survivor.

"We applaud the New York State Senate for the passage of the Adult Survivors Act. This legislation acknowledges that even if the criminal justice system fails a survivor, they will still have the right to sue their accuser. We strongly encourage the State Assembly Speaker Heastie to act quickly and move this bill forward," said Ilse Knecht, Policy & Advocacy Director for the Joyful Heart Foundation.

"We've seen how long it can take survivors of sexual assault to speak about the crime or crimes. When one survivor speaks up, it empowers more to speak out. Which in turn can aid in the healing process and make our communities safer. The Adult Survivor Act would give agency back to far too many New Yorkers who have been assaulted," said Bridie Farrell, President and Co-Founder, America Loves Kids.

"The Downstate Coalition for Crime Victims, a consortium of over 100 survivors, service providers, advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement and government agencies from NYC, Long Island, and Westchester & Rockland Counties, is grateful to Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Senator Brad Hoylman, and their colleagues for voting to pass the Adult Survivors Act. This bill will create a one-year lookback period to allow time-barred individuals who were sexually assaulted as adults to sue their abuser and, where applicable, a negligent institution, in civil court. We know the ways that trauma resulting from sexual violence can delay when a survivor discloses an assault, and we thank the Senate for voting to create expanded paths to civil justice, no matter how long ago the assault took place. We urge Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to immediately move this important bill forward before session ends," said Downstate Coalition co-chairs Anne Patterson & Michael Polenberg.

Hon. Judy Harris Kluger, executive director of Sanctuary for Families said, "Without support, processing, or justice, experiences of sexual violence frequently leave survivors more vulnerable to further abuse and exploitation. We see this at Sanctuary in our work with domestic violence and trafficking survivors, many of whom divulge histories of violence that began years ago. The Adult Survivors Act would provide survivors who were previously unable to (or who were denied the possibility to) seek justice, the opportunity to come forward and close a profoundly traumatic chapter of their lives. Sanctuary applauds Senator Brad Hoylman and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for their leadership in securing the Senate's passage of this bill, and urges Speaker Heastie to move the Adult Survivors Act forward before this legislative session ends."

About the ASA

The ASA - (A.648 Rosenthal/S.66 Hoylman) - is the next important step that the New York State legislature must take to reform the State's long-outdated statute of limitations for survivors of sexual violence. Modeled on the Child Victims Act, the ASA would provide a one-year lookback window to survivors who were abused when they were 18 years old or over. If passed, adult survivors would have one year in which to file a civil claim -- no matter how long ago the abuse happened -- even if the statute of limitations has expired.

Recognizing that the constrained time limits in NY's statutes were not in line with what experts understand about trauma, the legislature in 2019 passed the CVA, which has allowed over 5,000 survivors of childhood sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits to date. That same year, the Legislature extended the civil and criminal statute of limitations for several felony offenses -- including extending the civil statute of limitations for Rape in the second and third degrees prospectively up to 20 years. However, the law does not apply retroactively, meaning that certain survivors who were abused prior to 2019, still have only between 1-5 years to file a civil lawsuit.

The ASA applies to Article 130 crimes, including Rape 2 and 3, criminal sex acts, among others and incest offenses in Section 255. Just like the Child Victims Act, the ASA would also waive the 90 day notice of claim requirement to bring a case against a public institution.

According to the science of trauma, it can take survivors years -- even decades -- to process sexual abuse. When those survivors are ready to come forward, it may be too late due to restrictive statute of limitations on sex crimes. For some survivors who may have reported within the statute of limitation, but failed to get a resolution in the criminal justice system the ASA provides a further pathway to justice.

The ASA will create new paths to justice for survivors who were denied access to our courts because of an artificially narrow statute of limitations. The bill will give all survivors, including people who were formerly incarcerated, individuals abused by an intimate partner, and disabled survivors, a much needed chance to hold their abusers accountable.