Sexual abuse survivors, advocates, and City Council members are demanding an immediate hearing and vote on Intro. 1297, a bill designed to strengthen protections for victims of gender-motivated violence.

The emotional rally on Sept. 30 focused on legislation that would effectively overturn a recent court decision that dismissed hundreds of sexual violence lawsuits, particularly those filed by survivors of abuse in city-run institutions like juvenile detention centers.

The most powerful pleas came from survivors themselves, many of whom have endured decades of silence and trauma. The bill is intended to help all sexual abuse victims, including those from juvenile detention, victims of Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking, and those abused by doctors in major medical institutions.

Mary Soto,

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