Survivors of sexual abuse and human trafficking would no longer be restricted by the federal statute of limitations under new legislation announced Monday at the Willow Domestic Violence Center. The bill, named Virginia’s Law in honor of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, would eliminate the federal time limit for adult survivors to bring civil claims and create new avenues for holding abusers accountable.
The legislation also ensures protections apply extraterritorially, preventing traffickers from escaping liability by moving victims outside the United States. Under current law, adult survivors must file civil claims within 10 years of abuse, a limit advocates say has allowed traffickers like Jeffrey Epstein to evade justice.
“Justice should not expire,” said U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, who introduced the bill Monday alongside local survivors and advocates. “No survivor should ever be told that the law failed them, and time mattered more than the truth.”
Local organizations, including Willow Domestic Violence Center, the Rochester Regional Coalition Against Human Trafficking, and Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York, praised the bill, noting that many survivors need years to process trauma before pursuing legal action.
Schumer has pushed for transparency on Epstein-related files and previously secured federal funding for Rochester-area shelters. The legislation was first announced last week with Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) and Giuffre’s family.
