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| Groundbreaking rape survivors' bill of rights expected to be signed by Obama | Groundbreaking rape survivors' bill of rights expected to be signed by Obama |
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| A sweeping expansion of law enforcement’s obligations to people who report their rape, which victims’ advocates have hailed as groundbreaking, cleared a final hurdle in Congress late Wednesday evening and landed on the desk of Barack Obama, who is expected to sign. | A sweeping expansion of law enforcement’s obligations to people who report their rape, which victims’ advocates have hailed as groundbreaking, cleared a final hurdle in Congress late Wednesday evening and landed on the desk of Barack Obama, who is expected to sign. |
| The bill, inspired by a 24-year-old survivor of sexual assault and introduced in February, extends numerous rights to people whose rape kits are being stored and processed by federal law enforcement agencies. It includes a right to have a rape kit stored, without charge, until the statute of limitations expires, and a right to be notified in writing 60 days before a rape kit is destroyed. | The bill, inspired by a 24-year-old survivor of sexual assault and introduced in February, extends numerous rights to people whose rape kits are being stored and processed by federal law enforcement agencies. It includes a right to have a rape kit stored, without charge, until the statute of limitations expires, and a right to be notified in writing 60 days before a rape kit is destroyed. |
| Rape victims also can request to have their kit preserved under the legislation. The bill prohibits law enforcement from charging victims for a forensic exam, and victims have the right to know any important details forensic testing reveals – such as whether they ingested a date rape drug. | Rape victims also can request to have their kit preserved under the legislation. The bill prohibits law enforcement from charging victims for a forensic exam, and victims have the right to know any important details forensic testing reveals – such as whether they ingested a date rape drug. |
| “In federal law, there has never been a basic set of rights for survivors of sexual assault,” said Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who is the bill’s primary sponsor. “I introduced the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in the United States Senate [to] codify basic rights for survivors of sexual assault, and provide a model for similar reforms at the state level across our country.” | |
| The bill is a rare bipartisan achievement in a Congress that has struggled to attain many others. A bitter partisan battle delayed the approval of $1.3bn to fight the Zika virus for several months, with members of Congress divided by a proposal to direct some of the money toward contraception through a sister organization of Planned Parenthood. And earlier in the month, Senate leaders signaled a popular bill to slash prison spending and reduce sentences for nonviolent offenders was likely dead. | |
| In stark contrast, the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act passed the Senate and House with uncharacteristic speed and without a single vote of dissent. Shaheen introduced the bill in February. In May, the Senate moved unanimously to attach the bill as a rider to a sex-offender registry reauthorization act. (Wednesday night’s Senate vote resolved minor differences between the two bills.) The House voted unanimously on a nearly identical proposal on 6 September, with Republican speaker Paul Ryan making a personal appeal to his party. | |
| But the bill would not exist without Amanda Nguyen, a 24-year-old state department liaison to the White House and aspiring astronaut. | But the bill would not exist without Amanda Nguyen, a 24-year-old state department liaison to the White House and aspiring astronaut. |
| “This is the most comprehensive rape survivors’ bill ever in US history,” Nguyen said. “The fact that we got this done in seven months … It’s amazing. All of our hard work really shows.” | “This is the most comprehensive rape survivors’ bill ever in US history,” Nguyen said. “The fact that we got this done in seven months … It’s amazing. All of our hard work really shows.” |
| Nguyen has been agitating for the legislation ever since her own rape several years ago exposed her to a broken system. After submitting evidence to Massachusetts through a rape kit, Nguyen was told she had 15 years to decide whether to cooperate with criminal charges – but only six months before the state was allowed to destroy her kit. As a consequence, Nguyen spends several weeks each year scrambling to locate her rape kit so she can file an extension. | Nguyen has been agitating for the legislation ever since her own rape several years ago exposed her to a broken system. After submitting evidence to Massachusetts through a rape kit, Nguyen was told she had 15 years to decide whether to cooperate with criminal charges – but only six months before the state was allowed to destroy her kit. As a consequence, Nguyen spends several weeks each year scrambling to locate her rape kit so she can file an extension. |
| Her ordeal – once, a police officer told her the kit was likely in police custody, only for a lab technician to confirm the kit was actually at a lab – caused her to wonder about the law in other states. Nguyen compiled a list of more than 20 rights that different states guarantee to someone who reports a sexual assault. | Her ordeal – once, a police officer told her the kit was likely in police custody, only for a lab technician to confirm the kit was actually at a lab – caused her to wonder about the law in other states. Nguyen compiled a list of more than 20 rights that different states guarantee to someone who reports a sexual assault. |
| Eventually, the list became the basis for the bill Obama is expected sign this week. | Eventually, the list became the basis for the bill Obama is expected sign this week. |
| Shaheen met Nguyen in July 2015. By that time, Nguyen had organized a loose network of volunteers – friends, acquaintances and advocates – who gathered online to workshop legal solutions and eventually drummed up support for a bill. The group, called Rise, has since persuaded lawmakers in Massachusetts, Oregon, California and Maryland to introduce similar legislation. | |
| In Massachusetts, the bill has drawn a broad coalition of support, including that of the former executive director of the state’s innocence project. Virginia passed a similar law this year. | In Massachusetts, the bill has drawn a broad coalition of support, including that of the former executive director of the state’s innocence project. Virginia passed a similar law this year. |
| Nguyen said she was nervous going into the House vote, the last substantive obstacle facing the bill. She stood in the US Capitol for the vote, her eyes fixed on the green ticker that logs members’ votes. “To see the number just go up and up and up, and finally hit the two-thirds majority to pass, we were elated,” she said. “But then the number just kept going up. Nobody said no.” | Nguyen said she was nervous going into the House vote, the last substantive obstacle facing the bill. She stood in the US Capitol for the vote, her eyes fixed on the green ticker that logs members’ votes. “To see the number just go up and up and up, and finally hit the two-thirds majority to pass, we were elated,” she said. “But then the number just kept going up. Nobody said no.” |
| Shaheen and Nguyen hope the bill will serve as a model for lawmakers at the state level, where the vast majority of rape kits are collected, tested, and stored. The bill that has just passed Congress, which Obama is expected to sign, only applies to sexual assault cases tried in federal courts, or crimes committed on tribal lands and federal lands, such as in national parks. | |
| Right now, the rights extended to victims vary wildly from state to state. | Right now, the rights extended to victims vary wildly from state to state. |
| Even states that offer extensive rights to people reporting rape, such as California, are missing key protections, such as the right to a copy of their police report. Other states lack almost any protections at all. When Nguyen compiled her state-by-state list, she found the only guarantee Kansas extended was a promise not to subject reported rape victims to a polygraph test. Utah’s only promise was that the state would cover the cost of testing a rape kit. | Even states that offer extensive rights to people reporting rape, such as California, are missing key protections, such as the right to a copy of their police report. Other states lack almost any protections at all. When Nguyen compiled her state-by-state list, she found the only guarantee Kansas extended was a promise not to subject reported rape victims to a polygraph test. Utah’s only promise was that the state would cover the cost of testing a rape kit. |
| Not a single state requires law enforcement to retain rape kits until the statute of limitations expires. | Not a single state requires law enforcement to retain rape kits until the statute of limitations expires. |
| “The real fight is in the states,” Nguyen said. “That’s what we’re gearing up for. We’re working with a slew of state lawmakers who have already reached out and are eager to introduce this bill. And every state can do better.” | “The real fight is in the states,” Nguyen said. “That’s what we’re gearing up for. We’re working with a slew of state lawmakers who have already reached out and are eager to introduce this bill. And every state can do better.” |