Yuh-Line Niou told no one for years. And then, one day, she told everyone.

“I was 13 years old, and it was a teacher, and I can still smell him,” she said, trembling.

It was Jan. 28, and lawmakers were about to vote on whether to extend the statute of limitations for child sex abuse survivors to seek recourse. Ms. Niou, an assemblywoman who represents Lower Manhattan, wanted to underscore the deeply personal nature of the bill.

In what became an unplanned show of solidarity, three other legislators that day revealed that they too had been sexually abused as children. Their speeches, raw and powerful, were another sign of the shift at the State Capitol, where new Democratic leaders have fewer qualms about showing emotion.

“Albany is not a place where you find love and mindfulness or thoughtfulness or compassion, and the fact that each of us felt like we had a space to do that just signifies also the tectonic shift of what’s going on there,” said Senator Alessandra Biaggi, a Democrat who represents parts of Westchester County and the Bronx, and one of the lawmakers who described being sexually abused before the Senate vote.