The Adult Survivors Act is a successor to the Child Abuse Act, which was introduced in 2019 in the state. This law allowed for those who were victims of abuse when they were a child to file a lawsuit as an adult against an individual or organisation. Around 11,000 lawsuits have since been filed against institutions such as churches and hospitals.
The law is expected to open the door for thousands of lawsuits to be filed against historic complaints. Campaigners have praised the act for giving victims who have not had any legal routes to file due to the statute of limitations an opportunity to come forward.
