ALBANY (WCBS 880) — As the Child Victims Act window to file a claim closes this Friday, lawmakers, advocates and survivors of sexual abuse are pushing for the passage of the Adult Survivors Act.
In August 2019, New York opened a unique one-year period in which victims of childhood sexual assault could file claims against their abusers and the institutions that protected them – regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred.
When the pandemic hit, lawmakers voted to extend the deadline to August 2021, and the final day that claims can be filed is Friday, Aug. 13.
Advocates, like Audrey Johnson, however, are now pushing for a new law that will allow victims to sue when they are ready to come forward. That bill is known at the Adult Survivors Act.
“I just believe this bill should not be a limitation,” Johnson said. “Sex abuse is an ongoing thing so, we should not be limited on when we can file a case against our abuser.”
She says it took her 51 years to come forward against and sue the person who abused her as a child – and still remembers the words that were said to her that made her stay quiet for so long.
“’Don’t say nothing. If you say something, I’m going to kill you,’” she said.
Johnson stressed that survivors could take decades to come forward after grappling with the abuse that happened to them.
“There’s no timing on when someone's going to speak about the abuse because of what they feel within themself about what happened to them,” she said.
The Adult Survivors Act would give sexual abuse survivors over 18 a one-year lookback window to sue their abuser in civil court.
The bill passed in the New York State Senate last Spring, but has yet to move forward in the Assembly.
Advocates and sponsors of the bill say that's unacceptable, especially given what is happening in Albany.
“Take a look at what's going on right now with our governor,” said Asher Lovy, a survivor and advocate. “These are people who work in the highest seats of power in this country, who were staffers in the most powerful office in the state, who were sexually abused by their boss, who didn't come forward for years.”