Pushing for Passage Presionando Por LA Aprobacion

Manhattan Times
April 26, 2018

http://www.manhattantimesnews.com/pushing-for-passagepresionando-por-la-aprobacion/

Kat Sullivan.

Survivors of child sex abuse recently have made themselves heard across New York in recent weeks, as they push for passage of the state’s Child Victims Act (CVA), legislation that would increase both the criminal and civil statute of limitations on sex abuse cases.

In March, rape survivor and CVA Kat Sullivan unveiled three digital billboards, calling out her rapist and New York’s outdated laws on child sex abuse.

Currently, child survivors in New York have until the age of 23 to bring their abusers to court. After their 23rd birthday, they have no legal recourse.

If passed, the CVA would raise the statute of limitations for survivors of child sex abuse in New York and provide a one-year look back window for survivors of any age to bring their abusers to court.

On Monday, April 16, Sullivan unveiled another billboard along I-787 in Albany, this time targeting the Republican State Senator in her district, George Amedore. The billboard read, “90% of NY supports the Child Victims Act. Senator Amedore, why don’t you?”

Advocates have targeted Republican State Senators, who they feel are responsible for blocking passage of the bill.

That same day, advocates staged a sit-in at the state capitol to call attention to the pending legislation

Sullivan was raped in 1998 by her history professor and soccer coach at the Emma Willard School. After telling school administrators about her rape, they failed to report it to police. Years later, Sullivan did inform the local police, but the statute of limitations on sex crimes had passed.

In 2016, the Emma Willard School settled with Kat for failing to file a police report. She has donated portions of her settlement to survivor run organizations

Asher Lovy.

Earlier this month, abuse survivors rallied in front of the offices of Zurich Insurance Group, which has expressed opposition to passage of New York State’s Child Victims Act (CVA),

Insurance companies such as Zurich represent entities including the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts of America, who have lobbied against the CVA.

“By actively opposing the Child Victims Act, these insurance companies have not only placed a dollar amount on the sexual violation of a child, they’ve made it explicitly clear that that price is not worth paying to protect future children from being sexually abused,” said Asher Lovy, a child sex abuse survivor from the Orthodox Jewish community.

The CVA bill has been introduced in the state legislature each of the last 12 years and passed the Assembly in 2017 with overwhelming bi-partisan support.

However, the bill has never been brought to the Senate floor for a vote and was not included in this year’s final budget bill.

According to a recent Quinnipiac College poll, 90 percent of New Yorkers support the CVA.

Bridie Farrell.

“Albany politicians have again put the needs of special interests before child victims, but we are not going away. On Monday, in the middle of Sexual Assault Awareness month, lawmakers will head back to Albany — it’s time they do right by the 90 percent of New Yorkers who support the Child Victims Act,” said Kat Sullivan, survivor who was abused at 17 at the Emma Willard School by her history professor and soccer coach.

In addition to increasing the statute of limitations, the CVA would also remove special protections for public institutions that have acted as a shield against liability and create a one-year look-back window to allow survivors over the age of 23 to seek retrospective civil relief.

“The purpose of the Child Victims Act is to create a safer future for New Yorkers. The ‘look back window’ will facilitate identifying sexual predators within our communities immediately,” said abuse survivor aid Bridie Farrell.

Each year, 40,000 children are sexually abused in New York State — one in four girls and one in six boys. The vast majority of childhood sex abuse survivors only have until the relatively young age of 23 to bring criminal charges or seek civil relief. Once that age is reached, the doors to justice are forever closed forever.

Seven U.S. states have already revised their statutes of limitations, including California and Hawaii, which have implemented a one-year look back.

“Insurance companies should be invested in the well-being of communities here in New York. From both a cost-savings perspective and a moral perspective, these companies should stand with survivors and help facilitate the healing process, instead of protecting institutions that put children in harm’s way and lobbying against this legislation,” said Michael Polenberg, Vice President of Government Affairs at Safe Horizon. “We urge the opponents of the Child Victims Act, including the insurance companies, to stand firmly on the side of children and survivors.”

“Insurance companies are experts at assessing risk and should have known better than to vouch for bad institutions that harbor sexual predators,” said State Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “New York’s survivors will not be held hostage to the insurance industry’s bad bet. Anyone who stands in the way of justice for children who were sexually abused is standing on the wrong side of history. The time to pass the Child Victims Act is now.”