What's happening
This bill establishes a toll-free hotline for reporting and documenting past childhood sexual abuse, with procedures for data collection, confidentiality, and reporting to authorities.
Why it matters
Creates a safe, confidential avenue for survivors. By establishing a hotline specifically for reporting past childhood sexual abuse, the bill addresses barriers that have kept many survivors from coming forward, such as fear of retaliation or shame, and allows them to document their experiences in a supportive environment.
Facilitates justice and legal recourse. The hotline collects detailed reports and ensures that any incidents still within the legal timeframe for prosecution are passed on to local district attorneys, potentially increasing accountability for abusers and enabling survivors to pursue justice even years after the abuse occurred.
Supports prevention and victim services. By gathering comprehensive data about the prevalence and nature of childhood sexual abuse, the state can better inform prevention efforts. The bill also mandates the provision of information about advocacy, counseling, and compensation resources to survivors, helping connect them with vital support services.
Respects privacy while enabling oversight. The bill keeps survivor and perpetrator identities confidential except in cases where prosecution or child protection intervention is possible. Annual anonymized reporting to state leaders will help policymakers understand trends and needs without exposing individual identities.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Create Child Abuse Hotline
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to finance
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
292
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. YOUNG -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a child sex abuse survivor hotline for past childhood sexual offense reporting
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that it is in the public interest to collect data about the extent of instances of past childhood sexual abuse which may have been unreported to appropriate authorities at the time the abuse occurred or is still within the existing statutory timeframe for criminal prosecution or the filing of a civil claim. The consequences to victims from such past childhood sexual abuse are often repressed for many years and can be devastating to the victims and to society as a whole. Many incidents of abuse are also unreported to enforcement authorities due to a fear of retaliation or reprisal. In order to help determine the extent of this prior abuse, aid in efforts to prosecute past childhood sexual abuse offenses and establish associated claims which may still be viable for legal action, aid efforts to prevent future childhood sexual abuse, and help determine the appropriate means of providing compensation for damages incurred by the victims of past abuse, the legislature finds that the establishment of a voluntary reporting program (a child sex abuse survivor hotline) for incidents of past childhood sexual abuse is in the public interest.
§ 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-t to read as follows:
§ 837-t. Child sex abuse survivor hotline for past childhood sexual offense reporting. 1. The division of criminal justice services shall maintain a toll free child sex abuse hotline for victims to report and provide documentation of prior incidents of sexual abuse they have experienced which occurred before the victim's eighteenth birthday and which
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04161-01-9
S. 292 2
would constitute a sexual offense; or, prior incidents of sexual abuse which occurred before the victim's eighteenth birthday and which are, at the time of the reporting, barred from criminal prosecution under the provisions of section 30.10 of the criminal procedure law. For purposes of this section, the term "sexual abuse" shall mean acts proscribed under article one hundred thirty of the penal law, acts constituting incest as defined in section 255.27, 255.26, or 255.25 of the penal law, or acts including the individual in a sexual performance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law, or a predecessor statute that prohibited such conduct at the time of the act.
2. The division shall record information received from the victim which shall, to the extent possible include any and each instance of alleged sexual abuse. The information to be collected shall, at a minimum and to the extent possible, include: the specific sexual abuse alleged; the time, place and geographic location of the alleged sexual abuse; the victim's identity; the perpetrator's identity; whether there is any degree of consanguinity between the victim and perpetrator; and any other relevant information deemed necessary by the commissioner.
3. The division shall record any reported instances of sexual abuse, which are determined to be non-time barred under the provisions of criminal procedure law section 30.10, and report each instance to the appropriate local district attorney's office for investigation. The division shall also report any incidents of abuse when the victim is less than eighteen years of age at the time of reporting or when such abuse may be ongoing to the office of children and family services and shall coordinate with the office to have such allegations investigated in a timely manner pursuant to title six of article six of the social services law. The division shall also retain and make available information on appropriate advocacy groups and counseling organizations and mechanisms for victim services and compensation which are available to the alleged victim.
4. Any information relating to the identity of the perpetrator and the alleged victim shall remain confidential and may only be made available: (a) to the appropriate district attorney's office when the division determines the reported alleged abuse may not be time barred from prosecution; and (b) provided to the office of children and family services when the victim is determined to be under eighteen years of age at the time of the reporting pursuant to subdivision three of this section.
5. The division shall direct resources toward the marketing and public dissemination of information regarding the past child sexual abuse victim information reporting system hotline to promote public awareness of such hotline.
6. The division shall provide a report on January first of each year to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, and the governor which shall provide the information collected by the division pursuant to this section, provided however that the information provided shall not identify the names of the victims or perpetrators of the alleged sexual abuse.
§ 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment, or repeal of any rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its effective date, are authorized to be completed on or before such date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a child sex abuse survivor hotline for past childhood sexual offense reporting
Purpose
Establishes a Child Sex Abuse Survivor Hotline that is intended to collect information and provide data about instances of childhood sexual abuse that occurred in the past.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Provides Legislative Findings.
Section 2. Adds a new section 837-t to the executive law to require the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) to maintain a toll free child sex abuse survivor hotline to receive calls and track information regarding reported incidents of childhood sexual abuse that have occurred before an individual's eighteenth birthday. In instances where a report of childhood sexual abuse involves a victim under the age of eighteen at the time of reporting or indicates ongoing abuse, DCJS is authorized to report the information gathered to the New York State Office of Child and Family Services an coordinate to have such allega- tions investigated in a timely manner pursuant to Title 6 of section 6 of the social services law. The bill also authorizes the Division of Criminal Justice Services to make referrals to the applicable district attorney in instances where the information provided in the report includes any alleged ongoing sexual abuse allegation that is not time barred under the applicable criminal statute of limitations. The bill also requires that DCJS annually report certain non-identifying informa- tion received through the hotline to the Legislature and the Governor.
Section 3. The act will become effective 180 days after enactment.
Justification
Tackling the problem of child sexual abuse and ensuring adequate services and funding is made difficult by the lack of consistent, accu- rate statistics on its prevalence. Factors that make measurement diffi- cult include the varying definitions of what constitutes abuse and vast underreporting by victims. Our society is just beginning to grasp the extent and circumstances to which childhood sexual abuse has occurred. It is extremely difficult to obtain information about the extent of past child abuse in part due a cultural lack of acceptance of a policy which encourages reporting. In the past, this has evoked a culture of silence around sexual abuse perpetrated upon children. This societal stigma has hushed victim's voices about abuse they have experienced. Additionally, at the time the abuse occurs, many children lack the understanding to comprehend they are being subject to abuse, which is often perpetrated by a close or trusted companion.
Child victims may repress memories of such abuse for years, only to reemerge long after the act can be investigated or pursued through legal action.
This bill is intended to help uncover the extent of incidents of past child abuse, which will in turn assist the Legislature in crafting appropriate means of providing redress to those who have been harmed in the past and suffered in silence. It will also provide another means of assisting victims who still may be able to obtain satisfaction through the legal system.
Legislative history
New legislation.
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect one hundred eighty days after enactment, provided any regulations required may be immediately promulgated.
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