Thousands of people who say they were molested as children in New York state plan to file lawsuits this week against their alleged abusers and the institutions where they worked.

The Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, public schools and hospitals are among the many institutions expected to be named as defendants in the suits.

The first cases will be filed Wednesday, the start of a one-year litigation window in New York allowing people to file civil lawsuits that had previously been barred by the state’s statute of limitations, which were among the nation’s tightest.

The window opens with the Child Victims Act, which comes into force Wednesday.

Lawmakers voted this year to extend the statute of limitations going forward and to create the one-year litigation window to give victims a new chance to file lawsuits.

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