The NYC Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act

A separate route, not a variation on the others

This is a New York City law rather than a state one, and it creates its own civil cause of
action for crimes of violence motivated by gender. That independence is the point: it can apply
where other routes have run out, and it is assessed on its own terms.

It has been used in a number of prominent claims by survivors whose abuse fell outside the
temporary state windows.

What it requires, in broad terms

• The conduct must amount to a crime of violence.
• It must have been motivated by gender, at least in part.
• There must be a sufficient connection to New York City.

Whether a particular set of facts meets those requirements is a legal assessment, not a
self-assessment. The second element in particular is not obvious from outside. It does not mean
the person said something explicit about gender.

Where it tends to matter

It is most often relevant where the abuse happened in New York City, where the survivor was an
adult at the time, and where the state windows have closed. That combination describes a lot of
people who assume, wrongly, that nothing is available to them.

Time limits in New York turn on how old you were, who was responsible and the particular facts. Two rules anchor most cases: someone abused as a child can generally bring a civil claim up to their 55th birthday, and certain felony sexual offences suffered as an adult carry a 20 year window. Neither is the whole picture, and people regularly assume they are out of time when they are not. Ask rather than assume, it is a free call.