Civil Sex Assault Claims

In many civil sex assault cases, the individual perpetrator is not the only party who can be held responsible. Hotels, employers, landlords, schools, and other institutions may bear legal liability when their conduct enabled the abuse.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) provides a federal civil cause of action for survivors of sex trafficking, forced labor, and related offenses. This post explains who can sue, who can be sued, and what damages are available.

The Adult Survivors Act opened a one-year window for adult survivors of sexual abuse to file otherwise time-barred civil claims. This post explains what the statute did, why it closed, and what survivors can still do now that the window has expired.

New York's statute of limitations for civil sex assault claims depends on when the abuse occurred, the survivor's age at the time, and which statute the claim is brought under. This post walks through the CVA, ASA, GMVA, and general tort deadlines.

The New York Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA) gives survivors of gender-motivated violence a direct civil remedy against their attacker and, in New York City, against institutions that enabled the abuse. This post explains who the statute covers, what damages are available, and how the recent look-back window affected filing rights.