Justice served or justice missed? An examination of New York's domestic violence survivors justice act

Abstract

The Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (“DVSJA”) provided immense relief for domestic violence survivors (“survivors”) who had been convicted of committing crimes resulting from their abuse. However, the DVSJA failed to consider that survivors suffer the effects of domestic violence for much longer than abuse occurs. Research indicates that survivors can experience chronic post-traumatic stress disorder for years after their abuse ends. Furthermore, the DVSJA failed to consider that many survivors, specifically sexual abuse survivors, never report their abuse. This Note proposes two Amendments to the DVSJA that would: (1) allow victims still suffering the effects of abuse at the time of the offense to be eligible for relief; and (2) allow victims who never reported their abuse to be eligible for relief.