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Former President Donald Trump, actor Bill Cosby and gynecologist Robert Hadden are forever linked by a unique law that allowed sexual assault survivors to seek justice against some of the world’s most powerful men.
The New York Adult Survivors Act (ASA), which expires on Thursday at midnight, is unique. It gives survivors a one-year window to file a civil lawsuit regardless of when the abuse occurred, meaning incidents from decades ago have finally come to light.
Over 2,500 cases have been filed under the ASA, court data provided to The Independent shows. Survivors have sued some of the state’s most powerful men, from politicians including New York Mayor Eric Adams and Trump to major entertainment industry players such as Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Axl Rose, P. Diddy and photographer Terry Richardson. These lawsuits have also brought renewed scrutiny to major institutions such as New York hospitals and prisons, where hundreds of women say they were assaulted while receiving care.
Almost every industry was affected by the ASA, highlighting the shocking prevalence of sexual violence that existed but had never been prosecuted before. With the law set to expire at midnight on Thanksgiving, the full impact of the one-year period is becoming clearer, and politicians, advocates and advocates are pushing for an extension.
The “empowering” effect of the ASA
The law has undeniably helped many survivors seek justice.
Michael Polenberg, vice president of government affairs for the nonprofit victims’ advocacy organization Safe Horizon, said the ASA has “helped shine a light on the prevalence of sexual abuse in our state and across our country.” He told The Independent that the ASA had also “reinforced the message that it may take many years for survivors to come forward.”
Michael Lamonsoff, an attorney who has represented many survivors who have filed lawsuits under the ASA, noted that this law can provide “empowerment” to survivors — particularly those who were previously incarcerated.
Of the thousands of cases filed under the ASA, nearly 500 were taken over by the city’s Department of Corrections. Many former female prisoners have accused male correctional officers of mistreating them while incarcerated. Some also became pregnant, the suits say.
Mr. Lamonsoff outlined what the process must have been like for prisoners abused by correctional officers: “Did they really want to hire a lawyer? Could they really assert their rights after a sexual assault?”
The attorney also pointed out that conversations and understandings about sexual assault were vastly different decades ago, when many of these survivors were reportedly attacked. He added that at the time, formerly incarcerated survivors “couldn’t do anything to protect themselves or advocate for themselves,” “so this act is a great act.”
“One year is not enough”
Although the ASA has given many survivors another chance to seek justice, some have complained that the one-year deadline is not enough time for many to come forward.
The ASA is a “noble act,” Mr. Lamonsoff said, but his “biggest criticism” of the law is that it is too short. The ASA could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for survivors to come forward unless, Mr. Lamonsoff explained, “we have the push to reinstate it” or potentially extend it.
“Many of the survivors are left outside that window because they need time to process,” Mr. Lamonsoff said. “They need time to understand the background and how it will impact their lives if they come forward.”
Mr Lamonsoff said he was “aggressively calling for a continuation” of the ASA.
Will Rivera, interim executive director of the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA), also supported expanding the ASA.
He said expanding the measure would “give individuals the opportunity to process their trauma,” get support before moving forward and make an “informed decision” before potentially years of protracted legal battles that could ensnare the would require processing traumatic events.
One of the measure’s sponsors, Rep. Linda Rosenthal, told The Independent that she supports expanding the ASA. Ms. Rosenthal said there were some survivors who “may not have processed the trauma” until the deadline passed. Others, she said, may assume victim blame and have not yet realized “that they were forced to do something.” That’s why it didn’t click[ed] that they were eligible to file under the ASA.
Can the window be extended?
In short, it seems possible.
Rep. Rosenthal said she hopes to introduce an extension “shortly” when the Legislature reconvenes in January, and then “hopefully” it will be addressed.
This means that there is no, if any, seamless transition from the end of the window to the next start date.
Given the high profile of the lawsuits, which were widely reported in the media, Mr. Lamonsoff said survivors “can see that people really care about them.” This could potentially inspire even more survivors to come forward if the law is extended, she suggested.
The future of the ASA remains uncertain, but the state can continue to give survivors whose statutes of limitations have not yet expired the opportunity to come forward by demonstrating that justice can be served.
One problem, however, is how long victims have to wait for justice. Mr. Lamonsoff said it “now takes seven to eight years” for a sexual harassment allegation to come to court. That’s why he advocates for a special division in the state’s Supreme Court system where victims of sexual assault can bring their cases to expedite the lengthy process. “We want to show the survivors some results to make them feel like something has been done,” he said.
Life after the ASA
The impact of the ASA on the New York court system is still unclear – particularly when it comes to the statute of limitations for sex crimes.
Ms. Rosenthal said she believes the statute of limitations is “an antiquated idea” that “does not take into account the emotional aspect” of survivors. More optimistically, she said, over time “state legislators have been subjected to the horrors” of sexual violence and that “such” measures “are necessary.”
In 2006, New York abolished the statute of limitations for first-degree rape. Years later, in 2019, the state passed a law that extended the statute of limitations for certain sex crimes from five to 20 years.
That same year, the state enacted the Child Victims Act, which allowed those abused as children to file civil lawsuits against their alleged attackers and served as a precursor to the ASA.
The ASA will conduct research to shed light on the next steps forward, Mr. Rivera said. He said the research will be “helpful” as advocacy groups, advocates and lawmakers try to “move on and really make a positive change to the law.”
He added: “I think it’s an opportunity for New York to really be a role model for the nation.”
Mr. Polenberg summarized the legal development as a years-long process “to look at the experiences of survivors of sexual violence, to look at the laws and the books and understand that in most cases there is a disproportion.”
The ASA has allowed thousands of people to sue their alleged perpetrators, but if what is past is only a prologue, there are many more survivors who have not yet told their story.