Civil Sex Assault Claims

The Gender-Motivated Violence Act: Who Can Bring a Claim

Most survivors who come to us have never heard of the Gender-Motivated Violence Act. It is a New York City law, it sits outside the statutes people generally know about, and it can be one of the strongest tools available to a survivor whose assault happened in the city. It matters for two reasons. It gives you a civil claim in your own name against the person who assaulted you, without any need for a prosecutor to act first. And in appropriate cases it reaches beyond that person to others who made the violence possible. This post explains who the statute may cover, what conduct may qualify, what a survivor has to show, and what a successful claim may recover. It does not address timing, because the rules on timing are fact specific and have shifted more than once. If you want to know whether a claim is still open to you, that is a question for a free review rather than a blog post.

What the statute is for

The Act creates a civil cause of action for survivors of violence committed because of gender. It exists because ordinary criminal enforcement left a gap. Prosecutions require a prosecutor willing to bring them and a standard of proof that many survivors could never meet, and even a successful prosecution does nothing to compensate the person who was harmed.

A claim under this statute belongs to you. You decide whether to bring it. You are not dependent on a police report, a criminal charge or a conviction, and the case is decided under the ordinary civil standard rather than the criminal one.

What may count as gender-motivated violence

The statute is aimed at violence committed at least in part because of gender, or on the basis of gender-based animus. That framing is broader than survivors often assume. Conduct that may fall within it includes:

Sexual assault and sexual battery
Rape
Domestic and intimate partner violence
Stalking
Sex trafficking and coerced sexual conduct
Other violent acts where gender-based hostility played a part

The requirement is not that the person announced a motive. Courts look at the nature and circumstances of the act itself. In many sexual assault cases the gendered character of the conduct is apparent from what was done.

Who may be sued

The most direct defendant is the individual who committed the act. For many survivors, that is the whole case.

The statute may also reach parties who did not personally commit the violence but who directed it, enabled it, participated in it or conspired in its commission. This is what distinguishes the Act from an ordinary assault claim, and it is why it matters where an institution is involved. A company, a venue, a religious body, a medical practice or a property owner may be named where the facts support it.

Whether a particular institution can be reached depends heavily on what it knew and what it did. We cover that ground in more detail in holding hotels, schools and institutions accountable.

What a survivor has to show

A claim generally turns on establishing that the act occurred, that it amounted to a crime of violence as the statute defines it, and that it was motivated at least in part by gender. You do not have to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. The civil standard asks whether your account is more likely true than not.

Evidence that may support a claim includes your own testimony, messages and communications from around the time, medical and mental health records, and the accounts of people you told. Where an institution is a defendant, internal complaints, personnel records, prior reports about the same person and security records can carry significant weight.

What a claim may recover

A successful claim may allow recovery of compensatory damages for the harm caused, including therapy and medical treatment, lost income and reduced earning capacity, and the harm the law describes as pain, suffering and emotional distress.

Two features make this statute particularly valuable. Punitive damages may be available where the conduct warrants them. And the statute may allow a prevailing survivor to recover attorney's fees, which changes the economics of a case considerably and makes it realistic to pursue a well-resourced defendant.

Where the conduct has to have happened

This is a New York City statute, and it is generally directed at gender-motivated violence occurring within the city. If your assault happened elsewhere in New York State, or in New Jersey or Florida, different law applies and other claims may be available to you instead. Our overview of civil sexual assault claims in New Jersey and Florida covers those routes.

It is worth being precise about location early, because it can determine which claims are worth pursuing and which are not.

One point of contrast

Survivors sometimes assume this is an employment statute. It is not. It applies whether the violence happened in a home, a hotel, a clinic, a place of worship, a vehicle or a social setting, and it does not require any relationship between you and the person responsible.

Whether it applies to you

Whether this statute is the right vehicle for your case depends on where the conduct occurred, what was done, who was involved and what other claims may run alongside it. Often it is one of several possible routes, and the right approach only becomes clear once someone has looked at the facts.

You can read a broader overview on our civil sexual assault claims page. If you think this may apply to you, the useful next step is a conversation rather than further reading.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to prove the person hated women in general?

No. The question is whether the act was committed at least in part because of gender, and courts look at the nature of the conduct itself rather than requiring evidence of a stated motive or a general attitude.

Can I bring a claim if the person was never arrested?

In many cases yes. A claim under this statute does not depend on an arrest, a charge or a conviction, and it is decided under the civil standard of proof rather than the criminal one.

Does this statute only cover strangers, or people I knew as well?

It may cover both. There is no requirement that the person responsible was a stranger, and claims frequently involve partners, acquaintances, professionals or others known to the survivor.

Can an institution really be liable when it did not commit the assault?

It may be, where the facts show it directed, enabled, participated in or conspired in the violence. Whether that threshold is met is fact specific and depends on what the institution knew and how it responded.

Speak with us confidentially

If you were assaulted in New York City, this statute may give you options you did not know existed. A review costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Start with a free confidential review, or call us at (212) 516-1868. We represent survivors on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no fee unless we recover for you.

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