N.Y. Assembly approves Adult Survivors Act, opening civil lookback window for lawsuits

ALBANY — The state Assembly approved the Adult Survivors Act on Monday, opening a legal lookback window that allows adult survivors of sex crimes to hold abusers accountable.

The legislation, modeled after the 2019 Child Victims Act, will temporarily lift the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits against abusers of people over 18 and provide a one-year period to take legal action. Gov. Hochul has said she will sign the bill into law.

“Sexual assault steals a piece of one’s soul whether one is 6, 16 or 60,” Assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) said before the bill passed 140-3 in the chamber. “Rape leaves an indelible mark on survivors that changes them in ways that is hard to understand.

“Today, the Adult Survivors Act will help so many adults set out on the path to healing,” she added. “They will name their abuser and take their power back.”

The measure suspends the statute of limitations for adult survivors, who often don’t come to terms with or come forward to talk about their sexual abuse within the legal time frame established to file lawsuits.

It provides a one-year look-back window, which will take effect six months after Hochul signs the bill into law, so survivors can sue their alleged abusers or institutions that may have protected them, including churches schools and businesses.

The Democrat-led Senate unanimously passed the measure last month.

The Child Victims Act opened up a similar civil suit period for survivors of childhood sexual abuse to bring alleged abusers to court long after statutes of limitation passed.

Extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic allowed for additional time and eventually more than 10,000 suits were filed under the law.

Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), the Senate sponsor of both bills, thanked survivors for coming forward and supporting the measures.

“Today, we celebrate the bravery and tenacity of survivors of sexual abuse, to whom New Yorkers owe an enormous debt of gratitude,” he said. “They’ve spent years sharing their stories, again and again, in order to support other survivors and seek justice against their abusers.”