On Monday, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed into law victim’s rights legislation that gives child sexual abuse survivors more time to file civil claims against their perpetrators and the institutions that protected them. Arizona joined the ranks of New York, New Jersey and a growing number of other states in reforming their statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse, giving survivors a long-denied path to healing, justice and accountability.
The law extends the age limit to bring a claim against a perpetrator from 20 to 30 and opens a temporary window for survivors older than 30 to file civil claims against their perpetrators and the institutions that protected them—no matter when the abuse occurred. The law went into effect as of signing (Monday, May 27, 2019), with the temporary window remaining open until December 31, 2020, for survivors older than 30.