On March 31, 2025, NWLC filed an amicus brief on behalf of 36 gender justice organizations with a New York appellate court in Ventura v. Todaro in support of Jessica Todaro, a college student who was sued for defamation after posting publicly on social media that she had been raped.

A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is a meritless lawsuit filed to intimidate someone from speaking out against misconduct or to retaliate against them for having spoken out. New York’s anti-SLAPP law protects people from liability when they speak about any issue that is not a “purely private” matter, including public allegations of sexual assault. But a New York trial court held that Jessica’s public-facing social media posts were “private allegations” that did not fall within the scope of the state’s anti-SLAPP law.

NWLC’s amicus brief explains that sexual assault is widely prevalent yet vastly underreported, and that survivors commonly face retaliation when they come forward. Sexual assailants are increasingly using defamation suits and other SLAPPs to silence their victims and coerce them into withdrawing their claims. New York’s anti-SLAPP law clearly protects public allegations of sexual assault from liability, and numerous courts have recognized this. Furthermore, state lawmakers explicitly stated they amended the law in 2020 to protect survivors. Our brief therefore urges the appellate court to reverse the lower court’s decision and dismiss the SLAPP against Jessica.

Read our blog post to learn more.