On November 25, 2022, New York’s Adult Survivors Act (ASA) went into effect, opening a one-year window for survivors of adulthood sexual abuse to file suit against their abusers. The ASA also allows survivors to pursue a claim against responsible third parties—including correctional facilities. Recently, it was announced that hundreds of formerly incarcerated women are filing sexual abuse cases in New York under the ASA.
According to a recent report, approximately 750 women who were formerly incarcerated in New York jails and prisons are preparing to file claims against corrections officers and their employers. Under the law, members of the group can file sexual abuse personal injury claims against individuals and the New York correctional facilities that failed to address or protect them from harm.
New York’s Adult Survivors Act
In May, the state legislature passed the Adult Survivors Act (ASA), giving survivors a one-year period to file claims against their abusers and entities responsible for their abuse. The ASA was modeled after 2019’s Child Victims Act (CVA) which provided a one-year lookback period for childhood abuse survivors to take legal action against their abusers and culpable institutions. The CVA window to file suit has closed. However, the ASA opened on November 25, 2022, and will close on November 25, 2023.
The ASA Lookback Window
Before recent changes in the law, short sexual abuse crime statutes of limitations failed to account for the time a victim may need to identify abuse and come forward. To help remedy this inequity, the CVA and ASA created lookback windows to give survivors the opportunity to hold their abusers accountable regardless of when the abuse took place. Additionally, in 2019, the New York legislature made changes that extended the statute of limitation for several sexual abuse crimes. The ASA provides survivors who may have been previously-time barred with the opportunity to file suit against those responsible for their harm.
New York Prison ASA Sexual Abuse Claims
According to a recent report, hundreds of survivors have come forward, alleging that they were abused while being held in custody at New York correctional facilities. Some of the institutions named include Bayview Correctional, Bedford Hills, and Rikers Island. It is alleged that women inmates were sexually assaulted and abused while being held in these and other New York state, county, and city jails and prisons.
According to a recent report, the New York Corrections Department has a lengthy history of sexual abuse within its prisons. For example, in 1985, the DOJ investigated claims connected to Manhattan’s now-closed Bayview Correctional facility and found rampant abuse. Today, the number of women coming forward with claims of having been abused within New York correctional facilities continues to rise.
If you have been sexually abused or assaulted, it’s essential that you get the help you need to recover. The sexual abuse injury attorneys of Bonina and Bonina can help. We understand the trauma that can be inflicted by sexual abuse and assault. Our dedicated sexual abuse injury attorneys can help you evaluate your claim and seek the remedies you need to support your healing and well-being.
Contact an Experienced Sexual Abuse Injury Attorney
Every survivor deserves to have the opportunity to hold their abusers accountable. If you’ve been the victim of rape, sexual abuse, or other sexual violence, you want an experienced and compassionate sexual abuse injury attorney on your side. Bonina & Bonina, P.C. understand the importance of helping sexual violence survivors get the help they need for their trauma. Contact us online or call us at 1-888-MEDLAW1 to schedule your free consultation. Home and hospital visits are available. Se Habla Español.