Senate adopts resolution marking Crime Victims' Rights Week; lawmakers urge action beyond words

The New York State Senate adopted Resolution 595 asking Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim April 2025 as Crime Victims' Rights Week and used the floor to highlight survivors' needs and the limits of symbolic recognition.

Sponsor Senator Salazar opened by saying, "Crime victims and survivors do not fit a single demographic or stereotype," and described the ways victims require trauma-informed, culturally relevant services. Salazar, who identified as a survivor in floor remarks, said an estimated "22,000,000 Americans are directly impacted by crime," emphasizing the broad reach of the issue.

Several senators supported the resolution while urging that recognition be followed by concrete actions. Senator Murray thanked the sponsor but said she "may disagree with some of the language in the resolution" and pressed for more legislative action and help for victims, saying, "Actions speak louder than words" and recounting attendance at a recent vigil where the permanence of victims' grief was evident. Senator Webb, as chair of the Senate Committee on Women's Issues, said the chamber should continue to pursue budgetary investments and policies that center survivors and equity in the criminal legal system.

Senator Bailey echoed the call for sustained action and suggested legislative work and budget choices can complement commemorative efforts. The resolution was adopted on the floor; the transcript records the resolution as previously adopted on the chamber calendar and votes were recorded as adopted.

Speakers on the floor framed the resolution as an important recognition but repeatedly cautioned that legislative measures and funding are necessary to convert the resolution’s intentions into services for survivors and communities.