Julianne Moore Joins Chorus Demanding Passage Of Child Victims Act

The number of voices calling on New York senators to pass the Child Victims Act — a bill that would allow sexual assault victims to file lawsuits for incidents that happened decades ago — is growing day by day, and the latest person to join the bandwagon is Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore.

Moore, in an opinion piece in the New York Daily News on Thursday, urged the state senators to pass the bill during the state budget session, which will be held later this month.

"These survivors have been ignored by archaic statutes of limitations that do a better job protecting predators than they do their victims," Moore wrote in the piece.

The Child Victims Act, if approved by the Senate, would extend the time limit for sexual assault victims to file civil cases against their attackers to the age of 28 and criminal cases up to 50 years. Under the current law, victims in New York can file criminal charges only till the age of 23. The Act would also do away with the statute of limitations for any sexually related offense committed against a minor. Gov. Andrew Cuomo had included the bill in his state budget proposal earlier this year.

Moore, who had earlier donated $10,000 to the Time's Up movement — a campaign to raise money to help sexual harassment victims fight against their abusers — said the victims face lot of problems due to the sexual assault statute of limitations.

Moore said, "I was shocked — and frankly embarrassed — to learn that New York is one of the least victim friendly states in the nation."

Speaking about the Act, she said, "A handful of special interest groups and lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, with the support of his rank and file members, have ensured it never sees the light of day.”

"In doing so, they continue to protect sexual predators who are out there, have victimized children in the past--and will continue to do so if allowed to skirt justice. The barriers to preventing child sex abuse and holding predators accountable in New York are crystal clear: Flanagan and his fellow Republicans," the actress added.

Commenting on the #MeToo movement, Moore said, "It has taken decades and the support of thousands of women around this country for adult survivors to come forward with their own stories of sexual harassment and abuse."

It may be noted the New York State Assembly had passed different versions of the Act several times in the past. However, the Senate, which is dominated by Republicans, has never allowed it to be brought to the floor for a vote. Many groups such as the Catholic Church, Orthodox Jewish community, and the Boy Scouts of America, are against a provision in the bill that would allow victims to open old cases.