Safe Horizon, Advocates + Survivors Invite Assembly Leadership to Meeting on Adult Survivors Act

ALBANY, NY (06/16/2021) (readMedia)-- Safe Horizon, advocates and survivors, including Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, Marissa Hoechstetter and others, invited the Assembly Leadership to meet to discuss the need for broader paths to justice for survivors of sexual violence, in light of the Assembly's failure to move the Adult Survivors Act forward before the end of the legislative session. While the Senate passed the bill unanimously on June 3rd, the Assembly never brought the bill to a vote. The group sent a letter to the Speaker, Majority Leader and Judiciary Committee Chair.

The bill, similar to the Child Victims Act, would open a civil lookback window to time-barred survivors who were over the age of 18 at the time of their abuse. Safe Horizon launched a PSA in support of the Adult Survivors Act last month, available to watch here.

The invitation follows Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes's comments to WAMC's Alan Chartock last week that she had doubts why adult survivors would need more time to come forward. The Majority Leader said the following: "So, [the Adult Survivors Act] would add additional time for someone to say, 'I was hurt, I was abused, I was assaulted or I was harassed on the job, even though it happened six years ago, I need more time before I say it.' I'm not sure where that's necessarily coming from, I do understand what happened with the Child Victims Act when I feel like the Catholic Church should have been held responsible for protecting or hiding people in the ranks who were being abusive. I don't think this is the same situation, and I don't know if people need to have additional time to say 'Someone hurt me.' If someone hurt you, say it right now. You know, I honor and want to respect their desire to have that as a right or to come to that realization that I need to say something. You need to say something immediately when it happens."

The Majority Leader's comments are not in line with a basic understanding of the science of trauma, the shame many survivors feel in coming forward, and the relationship survivors have with the criminal justice system. Safe Horizon invites the Majority Leader, Speaker Heastie and Judiciary Chair Lavine to listen and learn from survivors' experiences and understand why a civil lookback window is necessary for survivors who were 18+ years old at the time of their abuse.

In 2019, when the Legislature passed the Child Victims Act and extended the statute of limitations prospectively for the same Article 130 crimes that the Adult Survivors Act covers, lawmakers admitted that historically, the statute of limitations has been artificially low and not in line with what we now understand about the calculus for victims in deciding to come forward, or their experience with law enforcement when they come forward.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Speaker Carl Heastie, Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes and Judiciary Chair Charles Lavine,

Last week, the Assembly failed to move the Adult Survivors Act - A.648 (L. Rosenthal) forward despite years of progress on similar survivor-rights issues. We were extremely disappointed by the inaction in the People's House. Our disappointment turned to shock when we heard Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes say the following to WAMC's Alan Chartock as session was winding down:

"So, [the Adult Survivors Act] would add additional time for someone to say, 'I was hurt, I was abused, I was assaulted or I was harassed on the job, even though it happened six years ago, I need more time before I say it.' I'm not sure where that's necessarily coming from, I do understand what happened with the Child Victims Act when I feel like the Catholic Church should have been held responsible for protecting or hiding people in the ranks who were being abusive. I don't think this is the same situation, and I don't know if people need to have additional time to say 'Someone hurt me.' If someone hurt you, say it right now. You know, I honor and want to respect their desire to have that as a right or to come to that realization that I need to say something. You need to say something immediately when it happens."

These comments are harmful to survivors and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the trauma, fear and shame so many victims face in the immediate aftermath of a sexual assault. They also ignore the fact that some survivors do come forward right away and are routinely failed by institutional enablers and a criminal justice system that can favor the offenders.

We invite you to meet with the Coalition to Pass the Adult Survivors Act, which includes survivors, service providers and advocates, to discuss why this legislation is so important and necessary for survivors of sexual violence.

Our goal for this meeting is to share narratives and case examples that can help you better understand the complex dynamics of sexual violence and the need for impactful legislation such as the Adult Survivors Act to better serve survivors and the community. We are happy to respond to any questions or concerns you may have about the bill, and to deepen your understanding of how difficult it can be for survivors to make a disclosure to a family member or friend, much less an attorney or member of law enforcement. We also want to share stories from survivors who did report their assault to the police but were failed by our criminal justice system.

For more than a decade, the GOP-led State Senate failed to move the Child Victims Act forward and our allies in the State Assembly rightly accused the Senate of protecting institutions that knowingly covered up countless cases of childhood sexual abuse. What has changed? We are puzzled by the Assembly's reluctance to build on its legacy of reforms and pass the Adult Survivors Act. We hope we can share information that will move this important legislative effort forward.

We invite you to listen and learn from survivors' experiences and understand why a civil lookback window is necessary for survivors who were 18+ years old at the time of their abuse. A representative from the coalition will follow up with you in the coming days to schedule an appointment. We look forward to this opportunity to meet and share our vision for reform.

Sincerely,

Safe Horizon

Sanctuary for Families

Center for the Independence of the Disabled, NY

Sara Ziff, Founder and Executive Director, Model Alliance

Sydney Giordano, Associate Director, Model Alliance

Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, Leadership Council, Model Alliance

Marissa Hoechstetter, survivor

Crime Victim Treatment Center

A Little Piece of Light

Mary Ellen O'Loughlin, survivor and Executive Director, Foundation for Survivors of Abuse

Desirae Brown Luch, Co-Founder, Foundation for Survivors of Abuse

Deondra Brown, Co-Founder, Foundation for Survivors of Abuse

Brian Tole, Manhattan leader of Survivor Network Abused By Priests (SNAP)

Asher Lovy, Director, ZA'AKAH

Bridie Farrell, survivor and co-founder/President, America Loves Kids

Amelia Tramontano, survivor

Junior League of Buffalo

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.