Sexual abuse victims push City Council to reopen path to justice with new bill

Sexual abuse survivors, advocates, and City Council members are demanding an immediate hearing and vote on Intro. 1297, a bill designed to strengthen protections for victims of gender-motivated violence.

The emotional rally on Sept. 30 focused on legislation that would effectively overturn a recent court decision that dismissed hundreds of sexual violence lawsuits, particularly those filed by survivors of abuse in city-run institutions like juvenile detention centers.

The most powerful pleas came from survivors themselves, many of whom have endured decades of silence and trauma. The bill is intended to help all sexual abuse victims, including those from juvenile detention, victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking, and those abused by doctors in major medical institutions.

Mary Soto, a survivor whose juvenile detention case was recently dismissed, directly challenged City Hall.

“I remember closing the doors in my mind just to move forward, to forget everything I endured as a child,” she said. “We have to be real about what’s happening. Our children are more than undeserved. They’re being ignored… We are no longer victims. We are survivors. This is a movement, and we will keep fighting until the end.”

Kendu Starmell, who drove more than ten hours from South Carolina to speak at the Sept. 30 press conference, echoed the pain of coming forward, especially as a male survivor.

Kendu Starmell, who drove more than ten hours from South Carolina to speak at the Sept. 30 press conference, echoed the pain of coming forward, especially as a male survivor.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

“It’s really hard for a male figure to say that he was abused by another male,” he stated. He insisted the battle is fundamentally about constitutional rights: “Let us have our day in court. Let us have our due process. That’s all we’re asking for. Due process is a constitutional right. So if it’s a constitutional right, don’t try to fight us on something that the people’s right about.”

Rashawn Jones, another survivor whose case was dismissed, said he was abused by a staff member at Horizon Juvenile Center while he was just 16. He spent years “working through the mental and emotional damage” while “trying not to let that pain define who I am.”

“The same law that was supposed to protect survivors is now being used to silence us,” he said. “Now that we found our voice, we’re being told it doesn’t count. How is that justice? Intro. 1297 is about fixing this failure.”

Clarifying the law to hold abusers accountable

At the center of the debate about Intro. 1297 is a judicial interpretation of the city’s gender-motivated violence protection law that has been used to throw out cases. Supporters of Intro. 1297 said the bill, if enacted, would clarify the law to ensure that institutions, not just individual abusers, can be held liable for enabling abuse.

“The recent court decision dismissing hundreds of juvenile detention abuse cases was devastating,” said Queens Council Member Selvena Brooks-Powers, the bill’s lead sponsor and Majority Whip. “Survivors who put their trust in our legal system … have now been told that they don’t have the right to seek justice against the very institutions that failed them. That’s unacceptable.”

The bill is designed to reopen a one-year look-back window for survivors to file civil suits, mirroring successful state laws like the Adult Survivors Act.

Supporters stressed that this window is vital because, as City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías of the Bronx noted, “We know that trauma does not move on a schedule.”

The most powerful pleas came from survivors themselves, many of whom have endured decades of silence and trauma. The bill is intended to help victims from all realms of abuse, including those from juvenile detention, victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking, and those abused by doctors in major medical institutions.

With the bill already boasting 34 co-sponsors, advocates and elected officials are questioning why City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams has not yet allowed the measure to move forward.

Brooklyn City Council Member Farah Lewis, chair of the Women and Gender Equity Committee, confirmed her committee is prepared to act immediately.

“It’s absolutely unacceptable that this bill… [is] continuing to languish while countless survivors are left without a fair path to justice,” Lewis said. “We must allow this bill to be heard under my committee immediately and bring Intro. 1297 to a vote because we will not turn our backs on survivors.”

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also weighed in, challenging the logic of the legislative delay.

“There has to be accountability for what is happening. We can’t just look at how much it costs and the difficulties of it. We have to look at how do we get it done. That’s the only thing that we should be asking.”

When contacted by amNewYork for comment, a spokesperson for Speaker Adams stated that the delay is not related to the context of the bill, but rather to the legislative process. Intro. 1297 was only introduced to the Council at the end of May, and must be subject to a committee hearing before coming to a vote.

“Survivors of gender-based violence deserve justice and accountability. Intro 1297 was introduced at the end of May and is currently going through the legislative process, which is deliberative and allows for thorough input from all stakeholders,” Adams’ spokesperson said.