On the third anniversary of passage of New York’s Child Victims Act, supporters of a measure that would give the same rights to adult survivors of sexual abuse say it’s time for the New York State legislature to pass it.
The Child Victims Act, approved in 2019, opened up a one-year window for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to bring their alleged abusers to court, years after the statute of limitation laws expired. The window was extended a second year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns that made it harder to access the state’s court system.
The act’s sponsor in the Senate, Brad Hoylman, says many survivors including those who say they were abused as children by Catholic priests, or Boy Scout leaders, took advantage of the opportunity to be heard.
“10,857 cases (were) filed under the Child Victims Act,” said Hoylman. “That is an example of success.”
Linda Rosenthal, sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, says those legal rights now need to be extended to adult survivors as well. Rosenthal spoke as news came of a settlement in federal district court in Manhattan between the UK’s Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth, and a woman who accused him of sexual abuse. Rosenthal says Virginia Giuffre won in the court of public opinion, but she say other survivors need more tools to pursue justice.
“The prince had to pay, but what about all the people who have been sexually assaulted across the state of New York who have no venue?” Rosenthal asked.
Marissa Hoechstetter is one of hundreds of women who say they were sexually abused by the gynecologist Robert Hadden, formerly a prominent fertility care specialist at Columbia University. Hadden later struck a plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorney that did not include jail time. The United States Attorney and the Manhattan DA have since re-opened the case. Hoechstetter says the adult survivors act is about returning some measure of power to survivors.
“We are not asking for the government to make a judgement about our claims,” Hoechstetter said. “We are asking to make those claims ourselves.”
Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou supports the bill and is a survivor of childhood sexual assault, something she and her immediate family kept quiet for two decades, until she spoke about her ordeal during debate on the Assembly floor on the Child Victims Act.
“Statues of limitations are made up,” said Niou. “It took me over 20 years to even acknowledge that I had this something like this happen to me.”
The Adults Survivors Act has been approved unanimously in the state Senate, but has stalled in the state Assembly.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul became the state’s chief executive after the State Attorney General, Tish James, found former Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo denies the allegations, but he resigned last August.
Hochul, when asked about the measure, says she supports the idea, but is leaving it up to the legislature to decide how to proceed.
“I look forward to working with the legislature to achieve the objectives, but I’d have to look at the language specifically,” Hochul said, answering a reporter’s question on February 14.
Senator Hoylman says Hochul has been supportive of anti-sexual assault measures, but he believes her active support could push the bill along.
“It’s always helpful when the governor weighs in on an issue before the legislature,” Hoylman said. “But I’d also argue that we have a lot of momentum in both houses, too.”
Hoylman says that if the measure passes in both houses later this session, he believes the governor would sign it.