If it happened in New York City, the courthouse is open again.
Until July 29, 2027, survivors of gender-motivated violence in the five boroughs can file claims that expired years ago. That includes claims a court already dismissed as too late, and it reaches the school, employer, or agency that let the violence happen, as well as the person who committed it.
283 days left. The window closes July 29, 2027, and a case takes time to prepare. See if it applies to you ↓
What the window covers.
Four questions decide most GMVA claims. None of them requires you to describe what happened.
Four answers tell you where you stand.
Choose an answer for each question. You do not need to describe what happened, and nothing you choose leaves this page.
Answer the questions to see which deadline applies.
Where it happened and when are the two answers that matter most. The other two change who you can name and whether an old case can come back.
This is general information about New York City law rather than advice about your situation. Every rule here has exceptions, and a court decision on the window is pending (see below). After the window, the ordinary GMVA period is seven years, or up to nine in some cases.
What the law means by gender-motivated violence.
New York City passed the Gender-Motivated Violence Act in 2000, after the Supreme Court struck down the federal civil remedy in the Violence Against Women Act, to make sure survivors here could still sue. The law covers conduct that would be a crime against a person, committed at least in part because of the victim’s gender. No one has to have been arrested, charged, or convicted.
In 2019 the Appellate Division held that rape and sexual assault meet that definition on their own, because the hostility the law requires is present whenever consent is absent. A survivor of sexual violence does not have to prove anything more about why the other person did it.
The first window left a gap. The second one closes it.
The city’s first window ran from 2023 to 2025. In 2025, a court ruled it did not clearly let survivors sue institutions, and hundreds of claims were thrown out. The City Council responded in January 2026.
- A new window Claims for violence before January 9, 2022 can be filed from January 29, 2026 until July 29, 2027, however long ago it happened.
- Institutions named in the law The amendment says in plain words that anyone who directed, enabled, took part in, or conspired in the violence can be sued alongside the person who committed it.
- Dismissed cases can return Survivors who filed during the first window, including those whose cases were dismissed, can amend or refile them now.
- Adults and children alike The window covers survivors of any age at the time, including abuse in childhood that happened in the city.
The institutions the city had in mind.
These are the kinds of institutions that survivors are holding accountable under the amended law. What each one knew, and what it did about it, is what the case is built on.
Schools and colleges
Public and private, K-12 through graduate school, including coaches, teachers, and staff the school kept on.
Employers
Workplaces that knew about a dangerous supervisor or coworker and kept them in place.
City agencies
Including the juvenile detention facilities at the center of the dismissals the 2026 amendment answered.
Hospitals and clinics
Healthcare settings where a provider’s conduct was reported or should have been noticed.
Religious organizations
Congregations and faith-based programs that moved or protected the person responsible.
Platforms and businesses
Websites, hotels, and other businesses that profited from the violence, including sex trafficking.
If you’re in NYC/NYS, you may have additional options and protections under the law.Iliana Konidaris · On the protections New York adds beyond federal law, 2022
A pending case will test the city’s window.
Some defendants argue that the state’s own revival laws, the Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act, override the city’s window. State courts in Manhattan have rejected that argument, while federal courts have split on it. In March 2026, the federal appeals court in Manhattan asked New York’s highest court to decide it, and that court agreed in April.
The case concerns the first window, and a decision could affect how courts treat the current one. The practical advice does not change: a claim filed inside the window is in the strongest position it can be in, and one filed after July 29, 2027 is not. Our deadlines guide shows how the city and state deadlines fit together.
What the window turns on.
Where it happened matters more than where you live today.
Someone who has moved to another state can still bring a claim for violence that happened in the five boroughs. Someone who lives in the city generally cannot use this law for something that happened in Westchester or on Long Island.
The closing date is sooner than it looks.
Old cases are built from records, witnesses, and institutional files, and gathering them takes months. Starting a conversation now keeps every option open, even if you decide later not to file.
You can file without your name on it.
New York courts routinely let survivors in these cases proceed as Jane or John Doe. Our guide to filing without your name explains what that protects and who will still know.
Olympias Iliana Konidaris
Iliana has spent more than a decade in New York City representing survivors of gender-based violence, and she trains victim advocates nationally on how lookback windows and revival laws work. She is lead counsel for the plaintiff in the Ethical Culture Fieldston School litigation in the Bronx.
More for New York survivors.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as gender-motivated violence?
Conduct that would be a crime against a person, committed at least in part because of the victim's gender. New York courts have held that rape and sexual assault qualify on their own. It does not matter whether anyone was ever arrested, charged, or convicted.
Does the GMVA protect men, boys, and LGBTQ survivors?
Yes. The law protects any person harmed by violence motivated by their gender. It is not limited to women or girls, and the window applies the same way to everyone.
My case was dismissed in 2025. Can I file again?
Very likely. The 2026 amendment lets survivors whose GMVA cases were dismissed during the first window amend or refile them before July 29, 2027. Bring us the dismissal order and we will tell you what it means now.
Can I sue a school, an employer, or a city agency?
Often, yes. Since the 2026 amendment, the law names institutions that enabled the violence among the people you can sue. Whether a particular school, employer, or agency is responsible turns on what it knew and when.
It happened outside New York City. Does the GMVA help?
Usually not. It is a city law, and it generally covers violence in the five boroughs, though a claim with a close enough connection to the city may still qualify. Either way, we may still be able to help you. Elsewhere in the state, the Child Victims Act and the ordinary filing periods govern, and our deadlines guide shows which may apply.
What happens after July 29, 2027?
The window closes. Claims under the GMVA generally must then be filed within seven years of the violence, and within nine years after an injury, disability, or childhood that prevented filing has ended. Older claims will not come back unless the law changes again.
Tell us where and roughly when. We will tell you if the window is yours.
That answer takes one free, confidential conversation. You do not have to give your name, describe what happened, or decide anything.
Free and confidential. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
- Safe Horizon, New York City, 24 hours800-621-HOPE
- New York State Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline, confidential, 24/71-800-942-6906
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, 24/7800-656-HOPE
- National Human Trafficking Hotline1-888-373-7888
If you are in danger right now, call 911. The New York State Office of Victim Services may help cover counseling and medical costs.
The GMVA window and its relationship to New York State’s revival laws are the subject of pending litigation, including a question before the New York Court of Appeals; statements here reflect the law as verified for this page.
This page is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. It is general information about New York City and New York State law as of October 19, 2026, rather than legal advice about your situation, and the law changes. Please do not send confidential information until an attorney-client relationship is established in writing.