What is the Child Victims Act?

The Child Victims Act is a recently enacted New York State law that provides survivors of child sexual abuse an extended time within which to bring legal claims against abusers. Prior to the Act’s passage, New York’s antiquated laws required that all civil claims of child sexual abuse be brought or forfeited within three years of the victim’s 18th birthday. In other words, individuals abused as children had to decide before the age of 21 whether or not to file suit against the perpetrators of their abuse. Because of the complex manner in which trauma is processed, many survivors where not (and could not have been) ready to take this step at such a young age. As a result, the old statute of limitations allowed many perpetrators to escape accountability.

The Child Victims Act has changed that. The Act not only extents the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims by 34 years, until the age of 55; it also creates a one-year revival window within which any survivor of child sexual abuse may file a claim, regardless of the victim’s current age or how long ago the abuse occurred. Thus, victims whose claims once were time-barred have a new opportunity to pursue their day in court. The Act also supports victims in other ways: by eliminating the need to file a notice of claim against government actors; requiring judicial training on child sexual abuse; and authorizing the Office of Court Administration to promulgate additional rules and regulations to promote timely adjudication of revived claims.

The Act was signed into law on February 14, 2019, and the revival window opens on August 14, 2019. From August 14, 2019 through August 13, 2020, any victim, regardless of age, may file a lawsuit against the person or institution that harmed him or her.

If you have survived child sexual abuse and are ready to pursue justice and compensation for your harm, please consider the attorneys of Levy Konigsberg to represent you in that process. We can be reached at 800-606-1829, or through the link on this page, and would welcome the opportunity to answer your questions and provide a free case consultation.