Effective January 29, 2026, new amendments to New York’s Victims of Gender Motivated Violence Protection Law (“GMVA”), N.Y.C. Admin. Code §10-1101 et seq., have significantly expanded the remedies available for victims of gender-motivated crimes to pursue a private right of action.

The New York legislature passed the GMVA in 2000 in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Morrison, which held that the there was no private right of action for victims of gender-motivated violence under the federal Violence Against Women Act. Generally, the GMVA allows individuals in the five boroughs of New York City to bring civil claims against perpetrators for crimes of violence “committed because of gender or on the basis of gender, and due, at least in part, to an animus based on the victim’s gender.”[1] The crime need not result in criminal charges, prosecution, or conviction to form the basis for a GMVA claim. A survivor may seek compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, attorney’s fees and costs, and such other relief that a court may deem appropriate.[2]

However, both the statute of limitations (i.e., the time someone has to file a claim) and narrow judicial interpretations of the GMVA had previously limited the range of redress for survivors. The 2026 revisions to the GMVA, which the New York City Council instituted over the veto of former Mayor Eric Adams, have codified several key changes which will expand opportunities for victims to seek redress for their harm.[3]

A New Lookback Period

First, the amendments create a new “lookback period” that allows survivors 18 months to bring claims for crimes that occurred before January 9, 2022. Prior to the amendments, courts interpreted the GMVA to apply only to crimes occurring after the GMVA’s enactment in 2000, such that survivors who experienced violence prior to 2000 could not take advantage of a prior “lookback period” enacted in 2022.[4] Now, survivors have until July 29, 2027, to bring civil claims against perpetrators for any earlier crimes of gender-motivated violence. This expansion is incredibly important for victims of gender-based violence, who often face increased barriers to reporting.[5]

Opportunities to Bring Previously-Barred Claims

Second, the amendment allows litigants who brought claims between March 1, 2023, and March 1, 2025, but who were previously barred by the statute of limitations, to amend or refile their lawsuit to assert claims under the eighteen-month lookback period. This important clarification allows survivors who have already filed to take advantage of the new amendments.

Liability for Institutions

Third, the amendments allow survivors to bring claims against not only individual perpetrators, but the institutions that enabled that violence. Although the 2022 GMVA amendments allowed for institutional liability, courts had interpreted the “abettor provision” to only apply to claims that took place after the enactment of the 2022 revisions.[6] Now, the GMVA clarifies that claims for crimes that occurred through the lookback window can be brought against “any party who commits, directs, enables, participates in, or conspires in the commission of a crime of violence motivated by gender.”[7]

Altogether, the new amendments to the GMVA address prior gaps in the law in meaningful ways. The changes will enable more survivors of gender-motivated violence to pursue civil remedies against perpetrators and the institutions that enable them.

***

Our attorneys at Katz Banks Kumin regularly assist clients who have been subject to gender-based harassment and violence. If you believe you have been a victim of a gender-based crime, contact the experienced lawyers at Katz Banks Kumin. Your communications with us are confidential and without further obligation.

[1] N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 10-1103, 1104.

[2] Id.

[3] N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 10-1104.1.

[4] S.S. v. Rockefeller Univ. Hosp., 239 A.D.3d 424, 425, 236 N.Y.S.3d 145 (2025), leave to appeal denied, 45 N.Y.3d 901, 276 N.E.3d 277 (2026)

[5] See N.Y. Senate Bill S6574, 2019-2020 Legislative Session, available at https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S6574 (“For crimes of sexual violence in particular, the clock ticks against the trauma and culture of silence that prevents victims from speaking out.”).

[6] See Rockefeller Univ. Hosp., 239 A.D.3d at 426.

[7] N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 10-1104, 1104.1.