When, if ever, can the law justify cutting off legal recourse for survivors of human trafficking? At the federal level, this question turns largely on the statute of limitations imposed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). The TVPA, along with its subsequent reauthorizations, establishes sex trafficking and related offenses as federal crimes, and provides the primary framework for their prosecution. In 2003, Congress expanded this Act to create a federal civil private right of action, allowing survivors to sue their abusers in federal court. However, this right to recover civil damages expires after ten years for cases involving adult victims.
Because Congress has completely removed the statute of limitations for several violations under the TVPA, imposing a time limit under the Act is no longer the norm. For instance, the passage of 18 U.S.C. § 1591 established that trafficking offenses resulting in a victim’s death may be punishable by death. Thus, because capital offenses are not subject to a statute of limitations under 18 U.S.C. § 3281, such prosecutions may be brought “at any time without limitation.” Additionally, in passing the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act in 2022, Congress disposed of time limits for nearly all trafficking offenses involving minors, both civilly and criminally.
By criminalizing human trafficking and eliminating certain statutes of limitations under the TVPA, Congress has acknowledged the grave seriousness of these offenses. However, its failure to account for the practical and psychological barriers that prevent survivors from coming forward reinforces the misconception that the effects of abuse eventually fade with time. Trafficking survivors are often left with lifelong mental health conditions and profound disruptions to their sense of identity and safety, which create barriers to pursuing legal action in a specific time frame. Studies show that 98% of trafficking survivors report at least one diagnosable mental illness, with 71% experiencing depression and more than two-thirds suffering from PTSD. The trauma endured from exploitation often leads to attempts by the brain to “protect itself from extremely distressing memories and emotions.” Thus, chronic avoidance, intrusive memories, dissociation, hypervigilance, and persistent fear are common manifestations of this neurological response. Not only does this make daily functioning extraordinarily difficult, but it is a survival tactic that does not suddenly disappear in order to fit an imposed ten-year limit.
With the recent disclosure of over 3.5 million heavily redacted documents related to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, public debate over the injustices surrounding statutes of limitations has been reignited. In light of this, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined by survivors of Epstein’s decades-long abuse, introduced legislation that would effectively remove the limitation on victims bringing civil claims under the TVPA. Named in honor of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a prominent survivor who accused Jeffrey Epstein of abuse and who died by suicide in 2025, “Virginia’s Law” would recognize the profound and often insurmountable barriers survivors face by allowing victims to pursue justice without time restriction.
In her posthumously published memoir, Giuffre recounted being choked, beaten, and left bloodied by Epstein and those within his orbit, at times enduring “so much pain that [she] prayed [she] would black out.” When she first came forward in 2010, Giuffre sacrificed her privacy and personal safety, facing home break-ins and death threats for publicly naming her alleged abusers. Meanwhile, “those men have had their publicist issue statements saying, we deny it. And that’s as far as it’s gone.”
The animating rationale behind this proposed federal bill is simple: “justice should not expire.” Barring survivors from recovering damages, and thus allowing abusers to “run out the clock,” effectively inculcates the notion that the trauma resulting from abuse terminates after a set period of time, when in reality it persists indefinitely for survivors.
In cases of extreme sexual abuse, delayed disclosure, or the act of “sharing details or aspects of a traumatic event after the initial disclosure or significantly after the event itself,” is common. Survivors may hesitate to come forward or pursue legal action for years due to fear of danger and retaliation, stigmatization, loss of relationships, or not being believed. Shame, guilt, and misplaced self-blame further complicate the expediency in which a survivor may be able to come forward. The rigid ten-year limit fails to account for the reality that delayed disclosure is present among roughly 32% of survivors. When the law firmly closes the opportunity for justice after a fixed period, it risks compounding the original harm of the abuse.
In 2020, executors of Epstein’s Estate argued that claims brought by survivors were inadmissible due to the fact that they alleged abuse that occurred between the years of 1985 and 2007. Having a legal technical defense that allows abusers to silence the stories of survivors, notwithstanding the merits of their claims, prevents accountability and stifles further action. The federal framework under the TVPA reflects acknowledgement that commercial sexual exploitation is among the most serious forms of abuse, yet maintaining strict time limits for adult survivors’ civil claims sends a conflicting message. In actuality, abuse is not confined to a mere decade. Foreclosing legal recourse and accountability after an arbitrary period of time is in opposition to the facilitation of justice.
The CSE Institute supports Virginia’s Law and its efforts to remove the statute of limitations for civil claims of sex trafficking under the TVPA. The Institute recognizes the profound barriers, both legal and psychological, that survivors of this type of abuse face. Given these realities, it is clear that a ten-year timeframe is thereby an inequitable restriction that compounds existing challenges and makes legal recourse under the TVPA effectively unserviceable. Denying survivors justice on the sole basis of a procedural technicality perpetuates the injurious misconception that the impact of sexual abuse is short-lived, and at some point, accountability unequivocally expires. Passing Virginia’s Law would challenge the current legal framework’s suggestion that giving abusers the chance to evade liability is more important than protecting survivors.
This piece is part of our first-year law student blog series. Congratulations to Tiernan McEwen on being chosen!
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.