Hundreds of supporters from around the state came to Albany yesterday to push for the passage of The Child Victims Act, and are celebrating what they believe will be final passage of the bill which will provide justice for victims of sexual abuse.
Gary Greenberg, the head of the Fighting for Children’s PAC (Political Action Committee), the driving force behind the Child Victims Act, says New York State needs to eliminate the statute of limitations.
“There should be no statute of limitations on such a heinous crime as child sexual abuse,” he said during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.
At seven, Greenberg survived sexual abuse at the hands of serial predator Louis VanWie.
The Child Victims Act failed repeatedly to pass in the state senate mostly due to a one-year “look back” which would allow victims to sue their abusers or organizations that protect them.
The biggest detractors of the bill have been the Catholic Church and the Chasidic Jewish community, which could be vulnerable to civil suits regarding sexual abuse claims.
Greenberg used his own money to form a political action committee to help vote out Republicans who stood in the bill’s way.
In November, five seats were flipped from Republican to Democratic in the senate. He’s now confident that during the 2019 session the Democratic majority will pass the bill.
In New York, the Child Victims Act has been met with opposition by religious institutions, including the Catholic Church and some small Orthodox Jewish groups.
Many religious groups argued that the provision could cause great financial harm for member institutions and place them in the brink of bankruptcy. Mark Meyer Appel, a orthodox Jewish activist and advocacy director of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, in response said he is disappointed that some religious leaders of his own faith are fighting this bill based on the financial losses the institutions will incur rather than caring and supporting the victims of abuse.
Appel, founder of the The Bridge Multicultural Center of Brooklyn, has been fighting for this cause for decades. This includes bringing survivors and advocates to Albany, year after year to advocate for the passing of this important bill.
“This year, 2019, will be known as the year that the Child Victims Act, finally became law in New York State and I hope that this bill will bring closure to thousands of survivors and giving them the chance to move forward and lead productive lives,” said Appel.
“And the governor will sign the bill and we are going to have a Child Victims Act, one-hundred percent,” he said before a crowd of lawmakers and supporters.
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