RALEIGH (NC)
Charlotte Observer [Charlotte NC]
October 3, 2021
By Carli Brosseau
[Includes table of U.S. window legislation. Map above: Lawmakers in three other states — Florida, Virginia and Utah — created lookback windows that the courts later found unconstitutional. Several states have passed laws that have revived a subset of expired child sex abuse claims using methods other than a lookback window. Map: Carli Brosseau. Source: Child USA]
In 2019, North Carolina legislators unanimously passed the SAFE Child Act.
The law included provisions intended to prevent child sexual abuse and to increase consequences for perpetrators and the institutions that shield them when children are harmed.
One element of the legislation was a “lookback window,” a two-year period where time-related restrictions on civil lawsuits brought by child sex abuse survivors would be lifted.
See how North Carolina’s window compares to similar measures in other states by exploring the map.