Survivor-Advocate Marissa Hoechstetter and Senator Hoylman on the Adult Survivors Act Going Into Effect November 24

NEW YORK —  Sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Senator Brad Hoylman, the Adult Survivors Act (ASA) (S.66A/A.648A) goes into effect on November 24, Thanksgiving Day. The ASA will create a one-year window for the revival of time-barred civil lawsuits based on sex crimes committed against individuals who were 18 years of age or older. It will allow survivors, like E. Jean Carroll and Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, who have alleged sexual assault from the likes of Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein, to finally have their day in court.  

State Senator Brad Hoylman, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: “We passed the Adult Survivors Act because for too long, survivors of sexual abuse were shut out of the courthouse by New York State’s formerly inadequate statutes of limitations. Survivors of horrific trauma deserve our support whenever they decide they are ready to pursue justice. I am proud to support these survivors as they seek the justice that was long denied to them.”

Marissa Hoechstetter, survivor-advocate, said: “Providing access to the civil courts for those who were abused when they were 18 or older - regardless or when the abuse happened - puts the power back in the hands of survivors. The Adult Survivors Act is about giving people options for how to heal from trauma. I am so grateful to legislative leaders - like Senator Hoylman - who pushed this legislation forward because they understood the importance of supporting survivors' voices in a tangible way. I am proud of the amazing coalition of advocates and survivors who never stopped asking for what we wanted. The ASA is an important opportunity to hold abusers and institutions accountable for the harm they caused or enabled. When the lookback window opens on November 24th, we will start a new chapter in our national reckoning with sexual and gender based violence.”

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