Congress has cleared a bill changing the way rape kits processed by the federal government are handled, giving rape survivors more rights. The bill now heads to Obama's desk. With this bill, survivors will have the right to store their rape kits until statute of limitations has expired on their case, and will also be notified in writing 60 days before the rape kit expires.
The new bill is called the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act, and not only will it provide guaranteed storage for a victim’s rape kit, but it will also prohibit law enforcement officials from charging victims for forensic exams that can detect things like date rape drugs.
“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,” Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire told The Guardian.
Shaheen is the bill’s primary sponsor, and her fight for it wasn’t easy. After a narrowly avoided government shutdown over funding for the Flint water crisis and the Zika virus, the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act is being seen as a bipartisan victory—not one member of Congress voted against it.
Amanda Nguyen, a 24-year-old survivor and founder of the organization Rise, turned over her rape kit to the state of Massachusetts several years ago. She was told that her rape kit would be destroyed in six months, despite the statute of limitations being 15 years. Now she has to request an extension twice a year just to make sure crucial evidence in her case doesn't get thrown out.
Nguyen and Shaheen both knew this process had to change, and since they got the bill through Congress, their next fight is to get states to improve the rights they give rape survivors—again, this bill only applies to federal crimes.
Nguyen told The Guardian, “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.”