By Chris Fox, KRLD Austin Bureau Chief
AUSTIN (1080 KRLD) - Survivors of sexual assault came together at the State Capitol in support of legislation designed to help the victims.
Meghan Westmore from the sexual assault survivor group SAFE spoke of the need for more money. "Chairwoman Nelson (State Representative Jane Nelson) and Chairman Zerwas (State Representative John Zerwas) added much-needed investments into the budget for rape crisis center services and for rape kit backlogs. This funding is so important to eliminate wait lists for victim services and to help address and prevent rape kit backlogs."
Legislation filed also targets those assaulted on and off college campuses.
Riley Trotter, a Junior at UT Austin is a survivor and heads up the Sexual Assault Prevention organization. "Senator Huffman has filed SB 212, which will allow universities to report incidents of sexual assault, therefore, gathering data on the incidents without disclosing information about survivors…getting accurate data on campus sexual assault is absolutely essential to solving the problem."
State Senator Kirk Watson sponsored the Monday News Conference at the State Capitol.
On Friday, Watson filed six bills aimed at preventing sexual assault and empowering sexual assault survivors. He says he continues to be moved by the strength and courage of the survivors. "Sexual assault survivors and their advocates have done a tremendous job raising awareness about this issue, particularly over the last two years," Sen. Watson said. "Their courage and hard work has given the Texas Legislature a unique opportunity to pass some much-needed reforms this session."
Sen. Watson's bills focus on improving our criminal justice and higher education practices relating to sexual assault:
SB 584 updates the Penal Code's definition of "consent" to clearly indicate that consent is lacking if a victim is too intoxicated to consent, if a victim withdraws consent and the actor persists, or if a caretaker exploits a client's dependency on him or her.
SB 585 creates a Texas IX, ensuring that even if the federal government weakens Title IX's protections relating to sexual assault and sexual harassment, every public and private institution of higher education in Texas will have strong protections. For example, SB 585 ensures every institution adopts a policy against sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking that guarantees a prompt and equitable investigation into all reported violations.
SB 586 improves the training Texas peace officers receive regarding sexual assault by ensuring it's up-to-date and trauma-informed.
SB 587 requires the Texas Department of Public Safety to expand their existing data collection efforts to help policymakers and the public better understand what happens to sexual assault cases at each phase of the criminal justice system.
SB 588 sets out more specific procedures to collect and test rape kits to ensure we're processing this valuable evidence quickly and efficiently.
SB 589 prohibits employers from requiring their employees to sign a confidentiality agreement regarding sexual assault or sexual harassment but allows survivors to use this settlement tool if they so choose.
