I know all too well that reporting memories of childhood sexual abuse can be extremely traumatic, and that it often takes years for survivors to feel safe enough to come forward. Opponents of legislation that could offer survivors access to the legal justice they deserve would have us believe that survivors’ memories are fabricated, or misremembered, to defame the accused. But these are worn-out arguments that are used to justify outdated laws that protect abusers from any accountability and completely ignore reality.

To be sure, in some cases, the passage of time will mean memories are unclear and evidence is insufficient. That should be for prosecutors and courts to decide on a case-by-case basis, as they do in most other matters that don’t involve sexual assault.

It’s unjust that, for those of us who can put the necessary pieces together to bring forward a case after years of debilitating silence, the law tells us, “Sorry, too late!” based on an arbitrary number of years.

Further, as the former prosecutor Linda Fairstein has said, in many cases, there is actual evidence. “Predators — just like in film and crime novels — often keep souvenirs to revisit the excitement of their actions,” she has said. Not to mention, years later, one survivor’s story can encourage others to come forward with additional evidence that strengthens the case.

We ask survivors who want justice to expose their deepest scars when the wounds and fear are often still fresh. We expect them to tell perfectly linear, articulate stories of their abuse, knowing that trauma can make this impossible. Then we rob them of the opportunity to seek justice when they are ready to seek justice and have the evidence to prove what they endured.

There has been some progress. In Florida, there are no statutes of limitations for abuse that occurred when a victim is younger than 16 years old. Laws including offering survivors retrospective windows of time to file expired civil claims have passed in California, Delaware, Hawaii and Minnesota, just to name a few states. But there are victims all around the country, and other states should follow suit.

We owe survivors more time to pursue justice. Abusers should not be able to run out the clock. Not in New York. Not anywhere.