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New York has recently passed a new bill in February called the Child Victims Act and it extends the age limit of child sex abuser survivors who wish to sue their abuser.
The new age limit allows child sex abuse victims to pursue legal action against their abuser until their 55 years old in civil cases, up from 23 years, and 28 years old in criminal cases.
Additionally, the Child Victims Act provides a one-year window for any sex abuse victim of any age to come forward and pursue prosecution.
Unlike other states that have, for many years, allowed victims to come forward against their abusers many decades after the abuse, New York, was very behind with a narrow statute of limitations. The new bill represent 15 plus years of work by advocates working hard to change the law and increase the statute of limitations.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention they estimate that 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse and/or neglect in just the last year alone. Victims of sex abuse, particularly children, are more likely to take longer to come forward with their stories due to the trauma of the abuse. Sometimes it can take them decades to come forward with their story.
This new bill will set the stage for many other states to come forward with their own increase in the statute of limitations. It was also bring to light even more of the abuses that have taken place across numerous industries.
For questions about the Child Victims Act, send us a message.
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