What is a statute of limitations?
A statute of limitations is like a legal stopwatch that counts down the time to file criminal charges or a civil lawsuit. It is important to know when the clock starts ticking, when the clock stops ticking and whether anything restarts the clock.
What is our goal?
Our goal as an organization is to educate victims and lawmakers and promote public awareness of the varying laws in each state as well as current initiatives related to changes in the statute of limitations law.
States Leading the Fight to Protect Children from Sexual Predators
Hover over any state to see statistics about the estimated number of victims in each state and the current statute of limitation laws. Click on any state in the map to see more detailed information.
Advocating for Public Policy Changes to Hold Abusers—and the Institutions That Harbor them—Accountable
Incentivizing institutions to root out child sexual predators also requires a change in the law. Too often, institutions avoid being held accountable because the restrictive state-level statute of limitation laws prevent victims from getting justice. These narrow limitations let far too many predators off the hook and have actually incentivized institutions to cover up abuse, knowing that after just a few short years the institution can continue to cover up abuse unpunished. This is unconscionable since children suffer lifelong harm from abuse.
Zero Abuse Project advocates for changes to this fatal flaw in our legal system by advocating for legislation that would extend and reopen statutes of limitation at the state level. We are also working at the national level to establish a National Plan that would both stop child sexual abuse and implement policies to meet the needs of the millions of survivors nationwide.
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When do I have to decide to file a civil case in New York?
Unfortunately there’s a very short window of time for survivors in the state of New York to decide whether or not they want to take advantage of the Child Victims Act. The deadline for survivors no matter when they were abused in the state of New York is August 13, 2020. Now you don’t want to wait till the last
When do I have to decide to file a civil case?
Deciding whether or not to file a civil case is certainly a big choice to make. Luckily, you have time. The window is open from August 2019 – 2020. However, it takes time to prepare a civil case. So you’re going to start looking for an attorney and gathering documents for this attorney to help you with the process.
What’s the difference between a civil and criminal case? Which one should I file?
Well if you can, file both. A criminal case is the state or the people versus the defendant. Usually, it is a crime against society and if you are guilty, you have to pay your debt to society and that means the perpetrator goes to jail. The civil case, rather than looking it as a crime against the state, we
What’s the difference between a civil and criminal case? Which should I file?
For most survivors of abuse it’s a difficult distinction to make and you’re not an attorney so it’s not really up to you to understand the difference and right now if there’s a civil window open in your state I highly suggest you talk to a good civil attorney to help you understand what your rights are and a good
What should I do if my Rabbi says I shouldn’t report my abuse?
A lot of rabbis may try to tell you that you’re not allowed to report child sexual abuse to the authorities or that you have to go through a based in. They’re absolutely wrong. Child sexual abuse can cause suicidal ideation, depression, self-harm, eating disorders as well as a host of other life-threatening conditions. There is no question that the
