Sexual assault survivor advocates are pushing for an extension or a more permanent way to seek legal accountability for abusers after more than 2,500 lawsuits were filed under the New York Adult Survivors Act before its one-year window to sue closed Thursday.

The law, which Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed in May 2022, created the one-year window for people who were 18 years or older at the time of an alleged offense to file a lawsuit against their alleged abusers and the institutions that enabled them, regardless of statutes of limitations.

In the days leading up to the lookback window closing, a surge of lawsuits was filed against high-profile people across industries, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, accusing him of a 1993 sexual assault.

Now, survivor advocates are pushing for an extension of the window or a more permanent legal change free from statutes of limitations they argue are restrictive and don’t account for the experience of survivors.

A large swath of the cases filed under the act were on behalf of incarcerated people against various corrections departments within the state, according to data from the New York State Unified Court System. Many were filed by patients against hospitals, large medical systems and companies that they say employed their abusers and ignored the warnings. Some were filed directly against accused abusers.

One of the law’s most high-profile tests came when journalist E. Jean Carroll sued former President Donald Trump for sexually abusing her in a luxury department store dressing room in the spring of 1996. A Manhattan federal jury found in May that Trump did sexually abuse Carroll and awarded her $5 million for battery and defamation.

Lawsuits also were filed on behalf of survivors who say they were sexually assaulted by former Columbia University gynecologist Dr. Robert Hadden, who was convicted of federal sexual abuse charges in January.

The act overall has not only empowered survivors to come forward but also pushed institutions to take more responsibility when it comes to abuse that happens under their watch.

New York state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, a Democrat who sponsored the Senate version of the act, plans to speak to lawmakers about possible solutions. “The idea that we would extend this whether in a multiyear fashion or permanently is something I’ll certainly be speaking with my Senate colleagues and leadership about,” Hoylman-Sigal said.

Meanwhile, Safe Horizon and other survivor advocates are closely watching proposed legislation and other efforts to eliminate statutes of limitation related to sexual abuse.