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On June 11, 2008 New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver passed a monumental bill through the Assembly that would extend the authority to prosecute and to bring a civil lawsuit for damages in child sexual abuse cases (Silver). Bill A4560-B establishes the extended period of limitation for the prosecution of a sex offense, allows civil claims or causes of action brought by any person for physical, psychological or other injury or condition suffered as a result of conduct that is a sex offense to be commenced five years after the victim reaches the age of twenty-three; as well as revives for 1 year, any such civil claim or cause of action which was barred because the applicable statute of limitations expired (New York). However, despite the importance of this bill, it has not been brought to vote in the NY Senate. New York State residents should contact their representative and ask them to support Bill A4560-B because it will arm victims with knowledge, give them more time to become independent from their families, and allow them to gain emotional stability before they confront their attackers.
Child victims of sexual abuse very often do not receive any victim's rights information at the time that the crime is reported. According to Detective Wafer, a detective in the Onondaga County Sheriffs Department's Abused Person's Unit, it is the parents of victims that receive victims rights information for their children under 17 years old (Interview, Det. Wafer). Considering that 90% of abused children are abused by family members or people close to the family(Child Help), it isn't hard to imagine that many parents choose not to inform their children of their right to a civil suit. Whether parents withhold the information to protect their children from harmful memories, or to simply keep “the family name” from being muddied, the result is the same; many victims simply have not been informed of their rights and so never know that civil suit was an option.
Even if the victim has been informed of their rights, family members can often apply enough pressure that stops the victim from pursuing a civil case against their attacker. All too often is isn't until the child is out from under the influence of their family that they feel safe and confident enough to even look into a civil course of action. “Child sexual abuse is characterized by issues of secrecy, conflicted loyalties and power amongst people who stand in close relationship to each other. Following discovery of child sexual abuse there are a myriad of vested interests involved in pressuring the child ,the least powerful member of the family, to retract, and the non-offending members of the family to disbelieve the child's allegations (Flaherty).”
However, the most important reason for passing Bill 4650-B has to be that it gives victims an extended period of time to seek psychological and emotional support as well as become more emotionally stable and better able to cope with the hardship of rehashing their abuse in court. Child sexual abuse survivors often struggle with a myriad of psychological issues stemming from the abuse. Anxiety, depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are just a few of those issues. According to Carol Boulware, Ph.D, there are also many reasons why children do not deal with the abuse at the time of the incident such as unconscious feelings of shame, disbelief, and self blame (Boulware).
Bill A4560-B will give victims more time to begin the healing process before cutting of their last avenue to finding justice and closure. It will inform victims of their rights, and give them time to break free from family pressures and find an inner strength that will come only with time and proper psychological care. Please contact your New York State Senator and urge them to show support for Bill A4560-B and help to strike a blow against the perpetrators of the most horrendous crime imaginable. Give the victims of child sexual abuse their voices back so that they can finally have their day in court.
Email Addresses:
Please contact your District Representative and let them know that you support this bill!
Senator &n bsp; District Email
 Adams, Eric | 20th | eadams@senate.state.ny.us |
| Alesi, James S. | 55th | alesi@senate.state.ny.us |
| Aubertine, Darrel J. | 48th | aubertin@senate.state.ny.us |
| Bonacic, John J. | 42nd | bonacic@senate.state.ny.us |
| Breslin, Neil D. | 46th | breslin@senate.state.ny.us |
| Connor, Martin | 25th | connor@senate.state.ny.us |
| DeFrancisco, John A. | 50th | jdefranc@senate.state.ny.us |
| Diaz, Ruben , Sr. | 32nd | diaz@senate.state.ny.us |
| Dilan, Martin Malave | 17th | dilan@senate.state.ny.us |
| Duane, Thomas K. | 29th | duane@senate.state.ny.us |
| Farley, Hugh T. | 44th | farley@senate.state.ny.us |
| Flanagan, John J. | 2nd | flanagan@senate.state.ny.us |
| Fuschillo, Charles J., Jr. | 8th | fuschill@senate.state.ny.us |
| Golden, Martin J. | 22nd | golden@senate.state.ny.us |
| Gonzalez, Efrain , Jr. | 33rd | gonzalez@senate.state.ny.us |
| Griffo, Joseph A. | 47th | griffo@senate.state.ny.us |
| Hannon, Kemp | 6th | hannon@senate.state.ny.us |
| Hassell-Thompson, Ruth | 36th | hassellt@senate.state.ny.us |
| Huntley, Shirley L. | 10th | shuntley@senate.state.ny.us |
| Johnson, Craig M. | 7th | johnson@senate.state.ny.us |
| Johnson, Owen H. | 4th | ojohnson@senate.state.ny.us |
| Klein, Jeffrey D. | 34th | jdklein@senate.state.ny.us |
| Krueger, Liz | 26th | lkrueger@senate.state.ny.us |
| Kruger, Carl | 27th | kruger@senate.state.ny.us |
| Lanza, Andrew J. | 24th | lanza@senate.state.ny.us |
| Larkin, William J., Jr. | 39th | larkin@senate.state.ny.us |
| LaValle, Kenneth P. | 1st | lavalle@senate.state.ny.us |
| Leibell, Vincent L., III | 40th | leibell@senate.state.ny.us |
| Libous, Thomas W. | 52nd | senator@senatorlibous.com |
| Little, Elizabeth O'C. | 45th | little@senate.state.ny.us |
| Maltese, Serphin R. | 15th | maltese@senate.state.ny.us |
| Marcellino, Carl L. | 5th | marcelli@senate.state.ny.us |
| Maziarz, George D. | 62nd | maziarz@senate.state.ny.us |
| Montgomery, Velmanette | 18th | montgome@senate.state.ny.us |
| Morahan, Thomas P. | 38th | morahan@senate.state.ny.us |
| Nozzolio, Michael F. | 54th | nozzolio@senate.state.ny.us |
| Onorato, George | 12th | onorato@senate.state.ny.us |
| Oppenheimer, Suzi | 37th | oppenhei@senate.state.ny.us |
| Padavan, Frank | 11th | padavan@senate.state.ny.us |
| Parker, Kevin S. | 21st | parker@senate.state.ny.us |
| Perkins, Bill | 30th | perkins@senate.state.ny.us |
| Rath, Mary Lou | 61st | rath@senate.state.ny.us |
| Robach, Joseph E. | 56th | robach@senate.state.ny.us |
| Saland, Stephen M. | 41st | saland@senate.state.ny.us |
| Sampson, John L. | 19th | sampson@senate.state.ny.us |
| Savino, Diane J. | 23rd | savino@senate.state.ny.us |
| Schneiderman, Eric T. | 31st | schneide@senate.state.ny.us |
| Serrano, José M. | 28th | serrano@senate.state.ny.us |
| Seward, James L. | 51st | seward@senate.state.ny.us |
| Skelos, Dean G. | 9th | skelos@senate.state.ny.us |
| Smith, Malcolm A. | 14th | masmith@senate.state.ny.us |
| Stachowski, William T. | 58th | stachows@senate.state.ny.us |
| Stavisky, Toby Ann | 16th | stavisky@senate.state.ny.us |
| Stewart-Cousins, Andrea | 35th | scousins@senate.state.ny.us |
| Thompson, Antoine M. | 60th | athompso@senate.state.ny.us |
| Trunzo, Caesar | 3rd | trunzo@senate.state.ny.us |
| Vacancy, | 43rd | SD43@senate.state.ny.us |
| Vacancy, | 13th | |
| Valesky, David J. | 49th | valesky@senate.state.ny.us |
| Volker, Dale M. | 59th | volker@senate.state.ny.us |
| Winner, George H., Jr. | 53rd | winner@senate.state.ny.us |
| Young, Catharine M. | 57th | cyoung@senate.state.ny.us |
