State of Maryland
Bill 686 Child Victims Act
Opening the Door to Justice for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse
Overview:
The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 is one of the most significant legislative victories for survivors of child sexual abuse in the United States. By removing the civil statute of limitations for survivors, the law acknowledges what survivors have said for decades: healing is nonlinear, trauma is long-lasting, and the legal system must adapt to the lived reality of those harmed. For too long, arbitrary time limits denied justice to individuals whose lives were forever altered by abuse that occurred in schools, churches, foster care, athletic programs, and other institutions that promised to protect them.
With this law, Maryland has said that time can no longer be used as a shield for institutions that failed to act—or worse, actively concealed abuse. This legislation doesn’t just give survivors more time. It gives them back their voice.
Key Provisions:
The law permanently eliminates the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse claims. Survivors, regardless of their current age or how long ago the abuse occurred, can now bring forward lawsuits in civil court.
This is a retroactive law. That means even those who were previously time-barred—survivors who were told, often cruelly, that it was “too late”—can now seek justice. This includes claims against individuals and institutions.
The Act also redefines the scope of abuse, expanding the legal definition to reflect the many forms that harm can take, from physical acts to enabling behavior by adults in positions of power.
To provide some guardrails on liability, the legislation includes caps on non-economic damages: $1.5 million for claims against private institutions and $890,000 for claims against public entities. These caps are not ideal—but they are not barriers. They are compromise points in a law whose primary strength lies in its recognition of survivors’ rights to be heard.
Legislative History:
Introduced as Senate Bill 686 in the 2023 legislative session, the Child Victims Act was championed by lawmakers who listened to the testimony of survivors, advocates, and legal experts over several years. The political climate around the bill shifted after the release of a devastating report from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office detailing abuse by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore—covering more than 600 victims over 80 years.
The public reaction was visceral. The legislative response was swift. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support: 42–5 in the Senate and 132–2 in the House of Delegates. Governor Wes Moore signed the bill into law on April 11, 2023. It went into effect on October 1, 2023.
Implications for Survivors and the Restitution Project:
This legislation is more than a law—it’s a reckoning. It challenges the structures that have long protected abusers at the expense of survivors, and it validates the truth that justice delayed should never mean justice denied. The law aligns with The Restitution Project’s mission to dismantle institutional silence and to create legal and cultural systems that center survivor autonomy and truth.
The Maryland Child Victims Act is a model for the rest of the country. It is a call to action for lawmakers everywhere to prioritize healing over liability and people over institutions.