U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R) praised Senate passage of the bipartisan Terminating Restrictive Enforcement of Youth Settlements (TREY'S Law), legislation aimed at voiding non-disclosure agreements that silence survivors of child sexual abuse.
The bill would make NDA provisions unenforceable if they prohibit individuals from disclosing the sexual abuse of a minor or related facts, regardless of whether the agreement was signed before or after litigation or settlement proceedings.
"Trey's story is not the exception, but the pattern," said Cruz following the Senate vote. "Non-disclosure agreements are too often used to bury abuse and silence survivors, with incalculable and catastrophic consequences for victims."
Cruz added that the legislation is designed to ensure survivors are no longer prevented from speaking publicly about abuse allegations or seeking accountability through the legal system.
"We will never know how many child victims were silenced by these contracts or how many lives were lost because law enforcement enforced that silence," said Cruz. "I now urge my colleagues in the House to pass this legislation and send it to President Trump's desk to be signed into law."
TREY'S Law is named after Trey Carlock, a Dallas resident who advocates say was silenced by an NDA following litigation involving Kanakuk Ministries. Carlock later died by suicide at age 28.
According to supporters, the bill seeks to prevent institutions and perpetrators from using confidentiality agreements to suppress allegations of abuse and shield the wrongdoing from public scrutiny.
Cruz framed TREY's law as a major step toward protecting survivors of child sexual abuse and limiting the use of NDAs that advocates argue have historically concealed abuse and silenced victims.
The legislation was led in partnership with Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and also received support from senators including Katie Britt(R-AL), Peter Welch (R-MA), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), and John Cornyn (R-TX).
The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives for consideration.
