Due to the wellspring of support from survivors, advocates and everyone who signed this petition, we are closer to protecting kids, not the people who rape them, than we every have been. Governor Cuomo put a version of the Child Victims Act in his budget bill, the New York Assembly put in a version, but the Senate refused to. They intend to use it as a bargaining chip. Meanwhile, child sex abuse scandals are breaking across the state and across the nation (see below). Here’s how you can raise your voice and urge legislators into action: Contact Governor Cuomo’s office, (https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form) put “Child Victims Act” into the subject bar, and paste the following message: Governor Cuomo, thank you for prioritizing children by putting the Child Victims Act in your executive budget. Now New York’s children are depending on you to keep pressuring the Senate so we can start protecting children by April 1. Contact Senator Flanagan (flanagan@nysenate.gov or 518-455-2071 ) and say or send the following “Senator Flanagan, most New Yorkers want to see New York protect children, not the people who sexually abuse them. We know that 84% of New Yorkers support the Child Victims Act. We think it is wrong that you are using children as a bargaining tool in the Senate’s budget, and we insist that you put the Governor’s version of the Child Victims Act into the final Senate budget. Thank you for caring about kids. PS: Please take another moment to sign this petition urging our leaders to invest in preventing child abuse, rather than letting it start and hoping for the best. https://www.change.org/p/protect-children-from-abuse-and-neglect