In New York, child sexual abuse victims can now sue their abusers decades after the abuse.

In a big win for victims of child sex abuse, New York has passed the Child Victims Act.
The state of New York has passed a bill in the legislature that significantly increases the statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims to prosecute their abusers. The Child Victims act changes the age at which people can legally bring their abusers to justice from age 23 to age 55 in civil cases, and to age 28 in criminal cases.
Considering the research that shows 1 in 5 females and 1 in 20 males are victims of child sex abuse, and that the median age for disclosing such abuse is 48, this bill will help many victims seek the justice they deserve.
With the passage of the bill, New York goes from one of the worst states in the nations for child sex abuse statutes of limitations to one of the best. According to the New York Times, many states allow victims to come forward decades after abuse takes place, and nine states have no statute of limitations at all.
The new age limit aligns with what we know about child sex abuse—and the tendency of victims to delay coming forward.
Many child sex abuse victims are reluctant to share their stories with anyone for years, if they ever come forward at all. As the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault indicates on their website, "We know that victims of childhood sexual abuse may not disclose for many years or even decades. They struggle with coming to terms with the fact that a loved one or trusted adult committed such a heinous act against them. It is important to provide these victims with the time they need to disclose and to provide an opportunity for recourse."
This bill provides a more reasonable amount of time for people who were abused as children to come to terms with their experiences and perhaps get the therapy and healing they need in order to publicly accuse their abusers. It also acknowledges that the effects of sex abuse extend far into adulthood—a validation that is too often overlooked.
The bill took more than a decade to pass, having been blocked in the Senate by insurance companies and the Catholic church, among others.
It's hard to imagine anyone taking issue with a law designed to help victims of child sex abuse seek justice, but the Child Victims Act was not a shoe in. In fact, it took 13 years and a great deal of advocacy to push it through New York's legislature.
Powerful opposing interests, including insurance companies, private schools, Catholic leadership, and Orthodox Jewish communities, claimed that allowing victims to prosecute their abusers well into adulthood could spell bankruptcy for schools, churches, and community organizations. For years, under a Republican-led Senate dominated by wealthy, well-connected lawmakers, the bill never made it to the Senate floor.
However, this past November, Democrats took the majority in the Senate. And last month, not only was the bill brought to the floor, but every single Senator, Republican and Democrat, voted to pass it. It also passed the New York Assembly 130-3.
"We apologize for not hearing you soon enough,” Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the new Democratic majority leader, said to victims and advocates on the Senate floor. “We apologize for making you wait so long.”
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."