Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to support lawmakers as they introduced ‘Virginia’s Law’ — a measure to help victims sue alleged sex abusers by making it more difficult for them to evade lawsuits.
The bill, named after Virginia Giuffre, Jeffrey Epstein’s most high-profile accuser, would remove the statute of limitations – the time in which a lawsuit can be filed — in sexual abuse civil cases nationwide while also creating new legal options for survivors.
“People refuse to accept silence at the end of the story. It’s that simple,” Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, a co-sponsor, said.
“It cannot be, when something this dastardly and this terrible and this heart wrenching happens for years,” he said.
The bill also includes language stripping what supporters called legal loopholes for alleged abusers operating in different jurisdictions, citing Epstein’s use of his private Caribbean island as a case in point.
“Survivors of Epstein’s abuse were ignored. They were doubted, they were silenced, they were dismissed,” Schumer said. “And even when the truth finally came out, even when the world finally listened, too many survivors were still told by the law, it’s too late.”