NY--Victims to Cuomo: NY can follow Hawaii’s successful lead with Child Victims Act, by Joelle Casteix, Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (January 13, 2017)

NY--Victims to Cuomo: NY can follow Hawaii’s successful lead with Child Victims Act

By Joelle Casteix
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
January 13, 2017

http://www.snapnetwork.org/ny_victims_to_cuomo_ny_can_follow_hawaii_s_successful_lead_with_child_victims_act

New York Governor Cuomo is making a bold and victim-friendly move by adding the Child Victim’s Act to his agenda. We applaud him for making child safety a priority—by helping victims in both private and public institutions.

In 2014, the State of Hawaii extended their 2-year civil window for victims of child sexual abuse. Their original window, enacted in 2012, only applied to victims who had been sexually abused in private institutions. The two-year extension broadened the law and allowed survivors who had been abused in public and private schools and institutions to use the civil justice system to expose their abuser.

The law was very successful, allowing hundreds of victims to come forward, exposing dozens of predators, and keeping Hawaii’s children safer in public and private institutions. Governor Cuomo can do the same for New York.

If Hawaii can write a law that helps survivors and protects children, New York can certainly do the same.

Contact: jcasteix@gmail.com