New ‘View’ on why victims need law
ALBANY — A co-host of “The View” has joined the fight for passage of a bill to make it easier for child sex abuse victims to seek justice as adults.
Sunny Hostin, who’s also a former federal prosecutor, urged Gov. Cuomo to make the Child Victims Act a legislative priority this year.
Advocates for the bill were disappointed that Cuomo did not mention the issue during his 92-minute State of the State speech last week, in which he spoke about dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace. Cuomo did include the Child Victims Act in a 370-page book outlining his legislative agenda for the year.
“As we learned with the #MeToo movement, it can take years for a survivor to come forward,” Hostin (photo) said in a statement to the Daily News. “When they do, survivors should be met with support, dignity and a clear pathway toward justice.”
In addition to her roles on “The View” and as a legal correspondent for ABC News, Hostin serves as a board member for Safe Horizon, a victims assistance organization that has been a leading advocate enacting the Child Victims Act.
She said she prosecuted many crimes against women and children when she was an assistant U.S. attorney.
“I know just how difficult it can be for survivors of sexual abuse to come forward,” Hostin said. “They may fear not being believed, may be dealing with the effects of trauma, or their abuser may have threatened them if they tell anyone.”
Hostin is the latest national figure to weigh in on the act. In December, television personality Dr. Mehmet Oz urged his viewers to contact state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-Suffolk County) to urge that he allow the bill to come to the floor for a vote. A day later, Corey Feldman, who says he was sexually abused as a child actor, also joined the chorus calling for the bill’s adoption.
The Assembly has passed a version of the Child Victims Act several times, including last year, which was for the first time since 2008. But the bill has died in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The bill the Assembly passed last year, which Cuomo supported, allowed survivors to bring civil cases up until their 50th birthdays and felony criminal cases until their 28th birthdays. Currently, they have until their 23rd birthdays to bring such cases.
The bill also included a one-year window to revive old cases and treated public and private institutions the same. Currently, those abused in a public setting like a school have just 90 days from the incident occurring to formally file an intent to sue.
Religious groups like the Catholic Church and Orthodox Jewish community oppose the provision that would open a window to revive old cases.
The state Catholic Conference, headed by Timothy Cardinal Dolan, supports doing away with the criminal statute of limitation on child sex abuse cases, lengthening the time frame going forward for when a victim can bring a civil case and treating public and private institutions the same.