Senator Brad Hoylman Calls For Child Victims Act To Be Extended After COVID-19 Effectively Ends CVA'S Look-Back Window

NEW YORK -- The Office of Court Administration (OCA) announced an indefinite pause of all non-essential court filings, including filings brought by survivors of childhood sexual abuse during the 12-month revival window created in the Child Victims Act (CVA). 

State Senator Brad Hoylman, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and sponsor of the Child Victims Act, issued the following statement in response:

"Pausing all non-essential court filings is a difficult but necessary step to protect the health and well-being of our judicial system. 

"When we finally passed the Child Victims Act, we attempted to guarantee a full 12-month period for survivors to file suit. Yet because COVID-19 has indefinitely paused our judicial system, the CVA's revival window has effectively closed as of today.

"It's always been prudent to extend the CVA's revival window by another year, matching similar policies in progressive states like California, New Jersey and Hawaii. Now, the massive unexpected interruption to our judicial system makes the need for extending the CVA more urgent than ever."

"New York promised survivors in 2019 that we'd give them a chance to seek justice—and we must live up to that promise. We must extend the Child Victims Act's revival window for an additional year, either in standalone legislation or as part of the budget.

Senator Hoylman and Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal sponsored the Child Victims Act which was signed into law in 2019. Senator Hoylman and Assemblymember Rosenthal also co-sponsor S.7082/A.9036 which would extend the Child Victims Act's revival window for an additional year.