New Law Helps Protect Survivors of Sexual Assault

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Sexual assault is frequent, and frequently unreported, in the United Sates. There are many reasons for this, from the cultural stigma of admitting that one is a survivor of sexual assault, to the inability or refusal of law enforcement to help survivors.

Admitting to being a survivor of sexual assault, much less attempting to bring the perpetrator to trial, can create many problems for the survivor. One only has to read about the rape trial of Stanford swimmer Brock Turner to see what those are.

On October 7, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Survivor’s Bill of Rights Act of 2016, which helps to provide survivors of sexual assault additional help. It ensures that survivors in federal cases have access to forensic evidence and a right to have that evidence collected and stored.

The “rape kits” used to collect physical evidence which can be used against the perpetrators of such crimes are often poorly managed or even destroyed well before they are useful. Now they have to be stored for up to 20 years. If the kits will be destroyed, the survivor who they represent must be notified first.

The bill was introduced in the Senate and passed unanimously. A similar bill was introduced in the House and passed there as well. After consolidating them into one bill, they passed both the Senate and House unanimously. This might come as a surprise in this current political environment, amidst partisan infighting and obstructionism.

The bill will be followed up by others introduced to Congress. However, they will likely not be voted on until 2017. These bills would further help to protect the rights of survivors of sexual assault and will help move the nation forward on the issue.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who introduced the bill, said in a statement, “Sexual assault remains one of the most underreported crimes and I hope that these basic rights will encourage more survivors to come forward and pursue justice.”