By George Lehman
Boston University Statehouse Program
Rep. Ayanna Pressley unveiled a bill on Tuesday that would provide monetary relief for survivors of sexual violence that would include all victims who faced abuse from the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
Pressley, the Massachusetts Democrat and a sexual violence survivor, stood alongside the co-founder of the ‘Me too’ movement and a self-described Epstein survivor in announcing the Survivors’ Rights Restitution Act that would establish a restitution program to alleviate the financial burdens sexual abuse victims can face, such as medical care, mental health support and lost income.
“This bill is for every survivor who has paid the price for a harm they never should have experienced in the first place,” said Pressley. “It is for the survivors who were failed by a system that too often protects the rich and powerful before it protects the vulnerable, and it is recognition that accountability cannot simply mean putting an abuser behind bars.”
The proposed bill would establish a panel of adjudicators that lead proceedings to determine whether a survivor is entitled to compensation and, if so, how much that person is entitled to receive. According to the bill, these adjudicators would serve four-year terms and be appointed by judges of the United States Court of Federal Claims, requiring at least four to be “licensed mental health professionals with clinical experience providing trauma-informed care to individuals who have experienced sexual assault, abuse, or trafficking.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein in July 2007 over allegations of illegal sexual activity with underage girls that excused him from federal charges and an investigation in exchange for pleading guilty to state charges, serving at least two years in prison, registering as a sexual offender and agreeing to methods for victims to obtain monetary damages.
Pressley said the agreement, revealed after a “Jane Doe” filed suit charging they were denied their right to prosecute because of the government’s failure to consult them prior to the settlement, was part of a system that “has failed us.”
“It was a sweetheart deal for a wealthy and powerful abuser, and a shameful institutional betrayal for the survivors who had every right to expect that their government would stand with them,” Pressley said.
She said the Crime Victims’ Rights Act gives survivors the right to be heard and to receive restitution by law, “but in the Epstein case and others, those rights were not adequately honored,” and that the proposed Survivors’ Rights Restitution Act would provide “vital compensation.”
“Survivors deserve restitution for the failures of our government,” Pressley said. “Because when the government violates a survivor’s rights, there must be a remedy.”
‘Me too’ co-founder and chief vision officer Tarana Burke said sexual violence itself “is not the whole story.”
Burke cited a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017 that found the estimated lifetime cost of sexual assault was $122,461 per victim, amounting to $3.1 trillion throughout victims’ lifetimes across the American population.
“Many tend to stop there at the moment of harm because one terrible encounter is easier to sit with than everything that comes after it, but the trauma doesn’t stop at the point of violence,” said Burke. “And while it may make some people uncomfortable to say out loud, I’ve long since made my peace with the fact that survival costs money, real dollars, sitting on top of the physical and emotional and mental toll that everybody already understands.”
Pressley has previously supported advocacy measures for victims of Epstein’s sexual abuse, which includes requesting the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in August 2025 to hold a hearing for “individuals who survived the horrific abuse associated with these crimes.”
Earlier, the panel’s subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement voted 8-2, including three Republicans, to subpoena the U.S. Department of Justice for the release of unredacted files relating to Epstein. Last November, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, requiring the DOJ to publish “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” it possessed relating to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein.
Dani Bensky, who described herself as a 2004 and 2005 Epstein survivor, said surviving sexual violence “leaves a lasting scar on victims” and that the past failures of the DOJ and FBI to support victims of Epstein’s abuse led to the need for legislation allowing survivors to hold government institutions accountable to prevent future sex trafficking and abuse.
“When survivors aren’t granted the opportunity to look forward, but are instead caged in a never-ending haunting of their past, there are serious repercussions: mental health deteriorates, reputational harm can prohibit job opportunities or advancement, [and] there are time, financial and emotional costs incurred in order to address these very serious disclosures,” Bensky said.
The Survivors’ Rights Restitution Act is cosponsored by 42 U.S. House members, including Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch. The bill has also been endorsed by sexual assault prevention organizations based in the state, including the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center and My Life My Choice, a non-profit that focuses on preventing child sexual exploitation.
Liz Speakman, the executive director of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, told the Boston University Statehouse Program the bill would provide financial compensation by creating a new revenue stream without reducing funds for existing programs that support sexual violence survivors.
“Even though we can’t go back in time and change that experience that they had, at least we can give them some kind of remedy for the harm that the government has caused by not upholding and respecting their rights that they’re entitled to by law,” Speakman said.
Pressley’s announcement of the bill follows a federal judge’s decision in late August to prevent a petition from Maxwell to overturn her conviction and sentence of 20 years in prison on “meritless” claims that her constitutional right to due process was compromised by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“Accountability must also mean healing and helping survivors to reclaim their lives, and we can start by delivering the financial restitution that they demand and that they deserve,” Pressley said.
