Senator Charles Schumer joined advocates for domestic violence and sexual trafficking victims to announce proposed legislation that would lift a federal statute of limitation that, Schumer says, has shielded traffickers like Jeffrey Epstein and prevented sexual exploitation survivors from receiving legal justice.
The bill he co-sponsors, known as ‘Victoria’s Law,” is named for the late Victoria Giuffre, one of the earliest to emerge with accusations against Jeffrey Epstein that he hosted a widespread sexual exploitation ring that trafficked victims, many under legal age, and invited many powerful and elite to participate in illicit activities with them.
Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019, though some conspiracy theorists have suggested otherwise. Giuffre died by suicide in Western Australia in April 2025.
Under current federal law, a claim by an adult survivor is allowed to proceed if it is brought within 10 years of the abuse.
“This bill carries Virginia Giuffre's name because she spoke when so many were told not to,” said Schumer in a prepared statement. “The survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have waited long enough. Virginia waited long enough. We can’t let abusers hide behind their power and the clock. Virginia’s story and the stories of so many other survivors in Buffalo and beyond demand more than sympathy; they demand action. The time for justice is now.”
In Buffalo, the BRAVE Trauma Recovery Center and Haven House are two agencies which provide support to survivors and would receive federal aid to continue their work under Victoria’s Law.
BRAVE has been working with human trafficking survivors since 2024 and has provided services to over 80 survivors of sex/labor trafficking alone. The agency has also worked with 192 survivors of sexual assault and over 1,000 survivors of domestic violence.
Haven House reports it served 186 individuals last year but had to turn away approximately 600 others due to limited capacity. Meanwhile, its 24-hour confidential hotline took more than 1,800 calls.
Erie County reported 6,594 domestic violence victims in 2023, a 27.9% increase since 2020.
BRAVE director Paula Kovanic Spiro says legislation such as Victoria’s Law is important because it recognizes that healing does not follow a timeline.
“By removing time limits for certain civil claims related to sexual abuse and human trafficking, this legislation acknowledges what trauma science and lived experience have long shown: survivors should not lose the opportunity to seek justice simply because their healing did not occur within an arbitrary window of time,” she said in a prepared statement.
Schumer first introduced the legislation last week alongside Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, a fellow Democrat.