04/15/2026
The courthouse doors have reopened.
A February 2026 NYC law has created an 18-month lookback window allowing survivors of sexual assault and gender-motivated violence to bring civil claims even if the statute of limitations expired years or decades ago.
This law is a recognition of a truth every victims’ lawyer understands:
Trauma does not operate on a legal timeline.
Many survivors need years to process what happened, often facing fear, shame, retaliation, or institutional silence. Until now, the law often punished that reality by shutting the door before survivors were ready to walk through it.
This new window does something critically important:
• It allows claims against not just perpetrators, but institutions that enabled abuse.
• It revives claims that were previously dismissed as “too late.”
• It gives survivors a renewed opportunity for accountability, validation, and justice.
For victims, civil litigation is not just about compensation.
It’s about being heard. Believed. And holding power to account.
But this window is limited. Once it closes, many claims may be lost permanently.
If you or someone you know has been waiting—this may be the moment to act.
https://brooklyn.news12.com/nyc-reopens-legal-window-for-sexual-assault-survivors-to-sue-abusers-and
The law reopens the city’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act lookback window for 18 months. It applies to claims that occurred before Jan. 9, 2022.
