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Budget, Education & City Services
Child Victims Act, State Sen. Brad Hoylman's proposed legislation to raise New York's civil and criminal statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes and provide current survivors a one-year look-back period to revive lapsed claims
WHEREAS, Child victims of sexual abuse are among the most vulnerable populations; and
WHEREAS, It has been estimated that one in four women in this country have been sexually abused as a child, and one out of every five men; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 90 percent of perpetrators of sexual abuse are known to the child; and
WHEREAS, Approximately a third of these perpetrators are family members, and
WHEREAS, Sixty percent of victims do not tell anyone about their sexual abuse until asked by researchers when they are adults; and
WHEREAS, Under the current law, survivors have only till the age of twenty-three — five years past their eighteenth birthdays — to take some form of action for any sexual crimes; and
WHEREAS, Currently in New York someone abused at a school or other public institution must file a notice of intent to sue within 90 days of the incident or be barred from action; and
WHEREAS, Currently, New York's laws are among the most restrictive; and
WHEREAS, The only states with a shorter statute of limitations are Alabama, Michigan and Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Proposed legislation will substantially lift the criminal and civil statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse crimes, treat public and private institutions the same by eliminating the 90 day notice of claim requirement for suing the state or local governments, and create a window of at least one year in which expired civil claims can be revived for past survivors; and
WHEREAS, The proposed legislation would make it easier for a victim of sexual abuse to obtain justice; therefore
RESOLVED, Community Board Five supports the passage of child sexual abuse legislation.