“Time should never be a weapon for abusers,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández declared on Capitol Hill, her voice steady amid the weight of stories too long silenced.
Joined by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Epstein survivors, advocates, and Virginia Giuffre’s grieving family—brother Sky Roberts Jr. and sister-in-law Amanda—they unveiled Virginia’s Law on February 10, 2026. Named for the trailblazing survivor who died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41, the federal bill eliminates the civil statute of limitations for sexual abuse and sex trafficking victims. No more 10-year deadlines that let predators hide behind time.
It creates new causes of action, closes jurisdictional loopholes, and opens a one-year lookback window for older cases.
“Justice should not have an expiration date,” Schumer said. Virginia’s courageous fight continues—ensuring no survivor is ever told their pain has expired.
“Time should never be a weapon for abusers,” Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández declared on Capitol Hill, her voice steady amid the weight of stories too long silenced.
Joined by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Epstein survivors, advocates from World Without Exploitation, attorney Sigrid McCawley, and Virginia Giuffre’s grieving family—brother Sky Roberts Jr. and sister-in-law Amanda—they unveiled Virginia’s Law on February 10, 2026. Named for the trailblazing survivor who died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41 in Neergabby, Western Australia, the federal bill eliminates the civil statute of limitations for sexual abuse and sex trafficking victims. No more 10-year deadlines that let predators hide behind time.
Introduced as H.R. 7467 in the House and its Senate companion, the legislation amends federal code to remove time barriers under 18 U.S.C. § 1595 for trafficking claims (violations of §§ 1589, 1590, 1591) and creates new civil causes of action for sexual abuse and related offenses (§§ 2241–2243, 2421–2423), allowing adult survivors to sue without any limitation period. This builds on 2022 reforms that eliminated limits for child victims, extending protections to adults where current law often requires filing within 10 years of the abuse or turning 18—or provides no remedy at all for certain crimes.
The bill includes a one-year lookback window, giving survivors whose claims expired a chance to file within one year of enactment. It also closes jurisdictional loopholes, preventing abusers from evading accountability by crossing borders to commit or conceal crimes. Fernández emphasized that trauma—PTSD affecting 94% of rape survivors shortly after assault, plus coercion, fear, and manipulation—often delays disclosure for years or decades. “For too long, sexual predators have hidden behind their wealth, their power, and the clock,” she said. “Justice should not depend on a calendar. It should not depend on geography. And it should never depend on how powerful your abuser is.”
Schumer highlighted Epstein’s reliance on silence and a flawed system: “Jeffrey Epstein depended on silence and fear, on a system that protected power instead of protecting people. Today we are saying no more.” He added, “Justice should not have an expiration date.” Sky Roberts Jr. spoke emotionally: “Grief without action is another kind of silence. And Virginia did not survive what she survived just to be silenced again.” Amanda Roberts affirmed the law’s message: “We see you, we believe you, and what happened to you matters.”
Giuffre, trafficked as a teenager and a key voice accusing Epstein and associates like Ghislaine Maxwell, inspired global accountability through her advocacy, lawsuits, and posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl (October 2025). Her death underscored the lasting devastation of abuse.
In a divided Congress, with no Republican co-sponsors yet, passage remains uncertain amid partisan divides. Yet the bill’s supporters argue it delivers a moral imperative: empowering survivors to seek justice when ready, not when arbitrary timers dictate.
Virginia’s courageous fight continues—ensuring no survivor is ever told their pain has expired.
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