The Adult Survivors Act, a bill that I introduced and, with a team of dedicated and fearless survivors, tirelessly worked to pass into law, has rightfully shifted the paradigm of how society views sexual violence in New York state. The ASA provides victims of sexual assault who were 18 years or older at the time of their abuse a one-year look-back period to file a lawsuit against their abuser and, if applicable, the institution that harbored them, no matter how long ago the crime occurred. Since the law went into effect last Thanksgiving, almost 3,000 cases have been filed.
The ASA is a tool that has prevented alleged sexual predators from being able to hide behind antiquated and sexist statutes to avoid the consequences of their unspeakable crimes. In New York state, under that very law, former President Donald Trump, music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs, former Columbia University OB-GYN Robert Hadden and coaches, prison guards and everyday people whose names we do not know have been accused of sexual violence years (if not decades) after the alleged offenses.
It is important that people who need to file suit against someone they say sexually abused them in the past do so now.
In May, Trump was found liable of sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll in the 1990s. Combs settled with the woman who accused him of rape. Hadden was sentenced to 20 years in prison in July for sexually abusing dozens of patients and was sued last month along with the university that employed him. “We owe it to the courageous survivors and the entire Columbia community to fully reckon with Hadden’s abuses,” Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and Irving Medical Center CEO Dr. Katrina Armstrong said in a statement this month. “Columbia failed these survivors, and for that we are deeply sorry.”
The law sunsets at the close of Thanksgiving Day, which means that it is important that people who need to file suit against someone they say sexually abused them in the past…
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