{"id":3495,"date":"2025-10-03T14:48:41","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T18:48:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T14:48:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T18:48:41","slug":"survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivors Rally for Justice as City Council Delays Vote on Intro. 1297"},"content":{"rendered":"

Survivors of sexual abuse, joined by advocates and City Council members, rallied outside City Hall this week to demand immediate action on <\/span>Intro. 1297<\/span><\/a>, legislation that would strengthen protections for victims of gender-motivated violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Survivors Call for Justice After Court Dismissals<\/span><\/h2>\n

The bill responds to a recent court decision that dismissed hundreds of lawsuits, many from survivors abused in city-run juvenile detention centers. Victims of <\/span>Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s<\/b> sex trafficking network and patients abused by doctors in major medical institutions would also be impacted by the bill.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are no longer victims. We are survivors. This is a movement, and we will keep fighting until the end,\u201d said <\/span>Mary Soto<\/b>, who had her juvenile detention case dismissed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Breaking the Silence<\/span><\/h2>\n

Several survivors spoke emotionally about decades of trauma and the struggle of coming forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kendu Starmell<\/b>, who traveled from South Carolina, emphasized the constitutional right to due process, \u201cLet us have our day in court. Let us have our due process. That\u2019s all we\u2019re asking for.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Another survivor, <\/span>Rashawn Jones<\/b>, recalled being abused by a staff member at Horizon Juvenile Center when he was 16. His case was also thrown out.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNow that we found our voice, we\u2019re being told it doesn\u2019t count. How is that justice?\u201d Jones asked.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Intro. 1297 Would Do<\/span><\/h2>\n

At the center of the debate is whether institutions, not just individual abusers, can be held accountable. The bill seeks to clarify the law, reopening a one-year \u201clook-back window\u201d for survivors to file civil lawsuits, similar to New York State\u2019s Adult Survivors Act.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSurvivors who put their trust in our legal system \u2026 have now been told they don\u2019t have the right to seek justice against the very institutions that failed them. That\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d said Queens Council Member <\/span>Selvena Brooks-Powers<\/b>, the bill\u2019s lead sponsor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pressure Mounts on City Council Leadership<\/span><\/h2>\n

Intro. 1297 has 34 co-sponsors, but City Council Speaker <\/span>Adrienne Adams<\/b> has not yet scheduled a hearing or vote. A spokesperson for Adams emphasized that the bill, introduced in May, is still undergoing the legislative process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Council Member <\/span>Farah Lewis<\/b>, chair of the Women and Gender Equity Committee, urged immediate action, \u201cWe must allow this bill to be heard under my committee immediately and bring Intro. 1297 to a vote because we will not turn our backs on survivors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Public Advocate <\/span>Jumaane Williams<\/b> echoed the urgency, \u201cThere has to be accountability for what is happening. We can\u2019t just look at how much it costs and the difficulties of it. We have to look at how do we get it done. That\u2019s the only thing that we should be asking.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Survivors of sexual abuse, joined by advocates and City Council members, rallied outside City Hall this week to demand immediate action on Intro. 1297, legislation that would strengthen protections for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-nyc-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nSurvivors Rally for Justice as City Council Delays Vote on Intro. 1297 - NYC Political News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Survivors Rally for Justice as City Council Delays Vote on Intro. 1297\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Survivors of sexual abuse, joined by advocates and City Council members, rallied outside City Hall this week to demand immediate action on Intro. 1297, legislation that would strengthen protections for […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"NYC Political News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-03T18:48:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/10\/nyc-council-survivors-rally-justice-vote-intro-1297.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sam Whitaker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sam Whitaker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/survivors-rally-for-justice-as-city-council-delays-vote-on-intro-1297\/\",\"name\":\"Survivors Rally for Justice as City Council Delays Vote on Intro. 1297 - 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