Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. CONNOLLY. Madam Speaker, my amendment would strengthen the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights by providing survivors the right to be informed of the status and location of their sexual assault evidence collection kit.

The Survivors' Bill of Rights was enacted in 2016 and provides fundamental protections to survivors, including: the right to receive a free medical forensic examination; the right to have a sexual assault kit preserved and to be informed of any results related to the examination including a DNA profile match or toxicology reports; the right to be informed of any disposal of a kit; and the right to prevent such disposal if desired.

These are important protections that can be funded through Federal grants made available through the Victims of Crime Act.

This amendment would add one additional and critical protection to that bill of rights.

It would entitle survivors to know the status and location of their kits, providing greater transparency to how kits are handled and tracked by hospitals, forensic professionals, and law enforcement.

My home state of Virginia launched just such a tracking program in 2019.

In Virginia, each kit has a unique bar code and each survivor is provided with a PIN that allows them to track the status of their kit online.

Privacy concerns are allayed by the fact that no personally identifying information is included in the tracking system, and it is entirely up to the survivor whether or not they want to report their assault to law enforcement.

This is a transformative transparency regime for a process that has far too long been kept in the shadows, which has given rise to backlogs and anxiety among survivors about the status of their kits and whether they are being used to hold their attackers accountable.

The amendment is about empowering survivors, and I urge its adoption.

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