Recent action by state lawmakers has served to expand the rights and options of childhood sexual abuse survivors in New York when it comes to taking legal action against abusers and others. In the sections below we'll explain key provisions of New York's Child Victims Act (passed in 2019), including a "lookback window" that allowed the filing of a lawsuit over childhood sexual abuse that occurred years (even decades) ago—even claims that might have been previously barred by filing deadlines—until the window closed on August 14, 2021.
In the context of a civil lawsuit over harm resulting from sexual abuse, a statute of limitations is a law that sets a strict time limit on the survivor's right to file a lawsuit against the person who committed the abuse—and against any other person, business, or institution that failed to report, prevent, or stop the abuse.
Claims over harm resulting from childhood sexual abuse are unique among civil lawsuits, not least because it can take an extended amount of time for survivors to come to terms with the abuse, let alone process the resulting trauma. At the same time, failure to get a lawsuit filed within the time limit set by the statute of limitations means that survivors will likely lose the right to hold not just abuse perpetrators legally responsible, but also churches, school districts, youth camps, and other organizations that may have failed to fulfill their clear legal duties to protect young people in their care.
Until 2019, survivors of childhood sexual abuse in New York typically had only a few years to file a lawsuit over their harm, and the clock started ticking on the day they turned 18 years of age. Now, under the new statute of limitations rules created by the Child Victims Act, most survivors can file a lawsuit against abusers (and others who may bear legal responsibility for the abuse) until they reach 55 years of age.
Note: The Child Victims Act also extends the time for filing criminal charges over childhood sexual abuse in New York, for both felony offenses (charges against the perpetrator are typically possible until the survivor is 28) and misdemeanors (charges can typically be brought until the survivor is 25). Learn more about pressing criminal charges over childhood sexual abuse.
At least for some survivors, the most important provision of the Child Victims Act was that it revived the legal options of those who had previously lost the right to file a lawsuit against the people and institutions responsible for the abuse. The law created a (now closed) "lookback window" during which almost any survivor of abuse could file a lawsuit, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred, and even when their claim might have previously been barred by the statute of limitations.
The Child Victims Act's lookback window closed on August 14, 2021, but the Associated Press estimates that in the two years during which the window remained open, more than 10,000 New York survivors of childhood sexual abuse utilized it to file lawsuits.
Besides the statute of limitations extensions and the "lookback window" we discussed above, the Child Victims Act also eliminates the requirement that survivors provide a notice of claim before they can file a lawsuit against public entities like school districts and other organizations.
For more in-depth information on New York's Child Victims Act, check out this summary from the New York City Bar Association, and this Child Sex Abuse Cases page from New York Courts.gov.
If you have questions about New York's Child Victims Act or the Adult Survivors Act, talk to a lawyer. An initial consultation is usually free and is always confidential. Learn more about finding the right attorney for you, and survivor resources after sexual abuse. You can connect with a lawyer directly from this page for free.
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