By: Hillary Nappi, Partner at AWK Survivor Advocate Attorneys
What Is TREY'S Law?
White Plains, NY—The Senate’s passage of TREY’S Law is an important step forward for survivors of child sexual abuse. At its heart, the legislation recognizes something that survivors have long known: no one should be forced into silence as a condition of seeking accountability. For too long, nondisclosure agreements (NDA’s) have been used in ways that can protect abusers, hide misconduct, and make it harder for survivors to speak their truth. TREY’S Law begins to correct that imbalance by limiting the use of NDAs in cases involving child sexual abuse.
Why Nondisclosure Agreements Harm Survivors
For many survivors, the ability to speak openly is not just about public disclosure. The ability to speak about abuse is often essential to recovery, accountability, and prevention. Silence can isolate survivors, while disclosure can connect them to support, validation, and the possibility of healing. Silence can be imposed in many forms, and legal silence can be especially painful because it may feel like the system is asking survivors to carry their trauma in private while the people or institutions responsible face little accountability. A law like TREY’S Law matters because it recognizes that survivors should not have to trade their voice for resolution.
How TREY'S Law Protects Survivor Voice
This legislation also reflects a broader and much-needed shift in how society understands abuse. Survivors should not be viewed through the narrow lens of legal risk, reputational concern, or institutional convenience. They are people who have experienced harm and deserve respect, compassion, and the freedom to decide whether and how to tell their story. When survivors are permitted to speak, they can connect with support, help others recognize patterns of abuse, and begin to move through healing on their own terms.
The Hidden Cost of Secrecy in Abuse Cases
It is also important to recognize the broader impact of secrecy. When NDAs are used to suppress disclosures of abuse, they do more than affect one individual case. They can allow harmful behavior to remain hidden, prevent other survivors from coming forward, and make it more difficult for the public to understand the scope of the problem. TREY’S Law helps shift the focus away from concealment and toward accountability. That is meaningful not only for survivors, but for communities that want to do better in preventing abuse before it happens.
Why Survivor Autonomy Matters in Legal Reform
From a survivor-centered perspective, this legislation affirms an essential truth: healing often begins with being believed and being allowed to speak. Survivors should not be made to feel that their stories are bargaining chips in a legal process. They should not be pressured to stay silent in order to obtain justice or closure. The law should support their autonomy, not restrict it. TREY’S Law reflects that principle in a direct and important way.
Changing the Culture: From Silence to Accountability
At the same time, this is not only about individual healing. It is also about changing the culture around abuse. When survivors can speak, systems are more likely to confront the reality of what has happened. Institutions are more likely to be held accountable. And the public is more likely to understand that abuse thrives in secrecy, while prevention depends on transparency, action, and courage. In that sense, TREY’S Law is about more than one bill — it is about setting a standard that says survivors’ matter, truth matters, and silence should never be the price of justice.
What TREY'S Law Means for the Future
For attorneys, advocates, and policymakers, the passage of TREY’S Law is a reminder that legal reform must be guided by the experiences of survivors themselves. Survivors deserve laws that protect their right to speak, honor their autonomy, and avoid compounding harm. That is what makes this legislation so important. It does not erase the pain of the past, but it helps ensure that the future is more open, more accountable, and more respectful of those who have been harmed.