Were you subjected to abuse in a New York women’s prison? You may now file a claim for compensation with help from a national sexual abuse attorney. The New York Adult Survivors Act temporarily eliminates the deadlines for filing claims against state prisons in New York.

What constitutes sexual abuse under the New York Adult Survivors Act? What steps should you take if you were abused sexually in a New York women’s prison? What measures will a national sexual abuse lawyer take to seek justice on your behalf?

If you will keep reading this brief discussion of the Adult Survivors Act, you will find answers to these questions, but if you personally suffered and survived abuse in a New York women’s prison, it is also important to have an attorney’s advice and services – as quickly as possible.

How is Sexual Abuse Defined?

Sexual abuse may be a single isolated incident or a series of incidents, and a variety of behaviors may constitute sexual abuse, but the most widely accepted definition of sexual abuse is “non-consensual sexual behavior or contact” that includes but is not limited to:

  1. non-consensual sexual touching
  2. rape or attempted rape
  3. coercing or forcing another person into performing sexual acts

Sexual abuse survivors need time. It may be years before an abuse survivor can talk to someone about what happened. Sometimes, however, the law does not match a sexual assault survivor’s needs, and a survivor may lose the chance to hold the abuser accountable in a court of law.

What Does the Adult Survivors Act Provide?

The Adult Survivors Act, which took effect in November 2022, is a New York statute that has established a one-time, one-year window for sexual assault survivors to seek justice – and to hold abusers accountable – apart from any other deadline or statute of limitations.

Until November 24, 2023, any adult abuse survivor – no matter when the abuse happened – may bring a claim against the abuser or against the institution that protected the abuser. When the one-year Adult Survivors Act expires, the standard statutes of limitations will again be enforced.

The one-year window means that if you suffered sexual abuse in a New York women’s prison, you should contact a national sexual abuse attorney as quickly as possible to begin the legal process. It is a one-time chance to seek justice for abuse that may have happened decades ago.

Abuse in New York Women’s Prisons – How Serious is the Problem?

The State of New York has a history of sexual abuse inside its prisons. For example, the U.S. Justice Department investigated abuse charges in the 1980s at Manhattan’s now-closed Bayview Correctional Facility, and in 1985, the Department issued a shocking report about the abuse.

According to the New York Times, hundreds of women in New York are now accusing prison guards of sexual abuse and women’s prisons of institutional abuse. Many of the claims refer to incidents that happened decades ago. It is expected that hundreds of lawsuits will be filed over the next year against New York prisons and prison guards under the Adult Survivors Act.

According to New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, who sponsored the Adult Survivors Act in the New York State Legislature, there is no cap or limit on how much the state can pay out to settle lawsuits filed under the Act.

The money to pay sexual abuse victims’ claims will be taken from the $220 billion state budget and possibly from the approximately $500 million reserved by the State of New York for “unexpected” expenses.

What is “Institutional” Sexual Abuse?

The Adult Survivors Act is modeled on the Child Victims Act, which prompted more than eight thousand lawsuits and has effectively held abusers and institutions accountable for the sexual abuse of children years and decades ago.

When sexual abuse is institutional, someone in an institution – a prison guard, for example – has used a position of authority to abuse someone who is in that institution’s care. In such cases, an institution’s managers and directors may be partially liable for any abuse that a victim suffered.

If you have been abused sexually in a New York women’s prison, and if you have not sought counseling, it is important to do that and begin the healing process. Taking legal action – and winning justice by holding your abuser accountable – can also help you with the healing process.

If you prevail with a sexual abuse claim against a New York women’s prison under the Adult Survivors Act, you may recover monetary compensation to cover the costs of counseling, treatment, and related losses and damages.

How Do You Begin the Legal Process?

As a sexual abuse survivor, your pursuit of justice begins by contacting a national sexual abuse lawyer as quickly as possible. Remember, the Adult Survivors Act expires on November 24, 2023, so you need to begin the complicated and lengthy legal process now.

Sexual abuse lawyers represent clients on a contingent fee basis, so you will not pay your lawyer upfront. In fact, it costs nothing to learn more and to have an attorney review your claim. You will pay no attorney’s fee until and unless your attorney recovers compensation on your behalf.

The best way to seek justice is to discuss your sexual abuse claim – before you take any other steps – with a sexual abuse attorney who can examine the details of your claim and offer you personalized advice regarding the most effective way to move forward legally.

What Else Should You Know About the Adult Survivors Act?

Sexual abuse victims need and deserve justice. If you are a survivor of sexual abuse, discuss your claim with a sexual abuse attorney as quickly as possible. You and your attorney should start identifying witnesses and compiling evidence before one more day goes by.

The Adult Survivors Act creates a genuinely rare opportunity for survivors of adult sexual abuse to seek justice for the abuse and for the memories that continue to injure them for years after a sexual abuse incident or series of incidents.

Under the Adult Survivors Act, it does not matter how many years have passed since the abuse took place. Exercise your legal rights and speak to a sexual abuse attorney – at once – about recovering compensation and winning the justice you need. If you and your attorney can prove your sexual abuse claim, you will be compensated, and the law will be on your side.