Sexual Violence in the News | |
New bill aims to curtail surprise medical bills for sexual assault survivors | A bill introduced Monday in the House of Representatives would require private health insurance to cover forensic exams for sexual assault survivors in full. The legislation came after research published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that nearly 18,000 out of 113,000 emergency visits related to sexual violence in 2019 resulted in out-of-pocket costs for the survivors. | | | |
Court revives lawsuits against Ohio State over sex abuse | COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A federal appeals court ruling in September revives unsettled lawsuits against Ohio State University over decades-old sexual abuse by the late team doctor Richard Strauss. A district judge in Columbus had dismissed most of the unsettled cases , acknowledging that hundreds of young men were abused but agreeing with the university's argument that the legal time limit for the claims had long passed. | | | |
Senate Passes Bill Voiding Nondisclosure Pacts for #MeToo Claims | The US Senate has passed legislation that would invalidate nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements signed before a worker alleges sexual harassment and sexual assault. The SPEAK Out Act ( S. 4524), is backed by the policy group Lift Our Voices that was founded by former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who is bound by a nondisclosure agreement herself. | | | |
Biden signs bill eliminating civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse victims | President Biden on Friday signed a bill that will eliminate the statute of limitations for people who were sexually abused as minors to file civil claims. The Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act was passed by the House by voice vote on Tuesday after passing the Senate by unanimous consent in... | | | |
House Bill 266
Regards statutes of limitation for rape and child sexual abuse
Sponsors: Representative Miranda, Representative Galonski
Committee: House Criminal Justice
HB 266 would eliminate the statute of limitations of § 2907.02 Rape, remove the spousal exemption from § 2907.02 Rape, and extend the statute of limitations for civil child sexual abuse claims from 12 years to the date the survivor reaches the age of 55.
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House Bill 121
Eliminate sex crime spousal exceptions; permit spousal testimony
Sponsors: Representative Lanese, Representative Boggs
Committee: House Criminal Justice
HB 121 would remove spousal exemptions from § 2907.02 Rape, § 2907.03 Sexual Battery, § 2907.04 Unlawful Sexual Conduct with a Minor, § 2907.05 Gross Sexual Imposition, § 2907.06 Sexual Imposition, and § 2907.07 Importuning.
Click here for OAESV's Fact Sheet.
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HRC 6 & SRC 4
Declare racism a public health crisis
House Sponsors:
Representative Howse,
Representative Crawley
Senate Sponsors:
Senator Craig, Senator Williams
Committees: House State and Local Government Committee, Senate Health Committee
Click here for more information.
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Erin's Law - HB 105
Regards age-appropriate child sexual abuse instruction
Sponsors: Representative Lipps, Representative Kelly
Committee: Senate Primary and Secondary Education
Status: Passed House, Referred to Senate Primary & Secondary Education Committee
Current law does not mandate education addressing the pervasive problems of sexual abuse and sexual violence. Erin's Law would require sexual abuse prevention education in grades K-6, add sexual violence prevention education in grades 7-12, and require additional training for school personnel. Ohio is a regional outlier, as Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York have all passed Erin's Law. Erin's Law curriculum first appeared in public schools in 2009, and Ohio's legislation meets our individual state's needs for district expertise in crafting compliant lessons.
Our Erin's Law library can be accessed here.
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HB 199
Remove the cap on damages for noneconomic loss when a victim of rape or assault brings a tort action
Sponsors: Representative Boggs, Representative Russo
Committee: House Civil Justice Committee
This bill would remove limitations on the amount of compensatory damages for noneconomic loss in tort actions brought by a victim of rape, felonious assault, aggravated assault, assault, or negligent assault.
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HB 319 and SB 183
Enact Expanding Human Trafficking Justice Act
Senate Sponsors: Senators Fedor and Kunze
House Sponsors: Representatives Galonski and Richardson
Committee: House Criminal Justice Committee, Senate Judiciary Committee
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This bill would allow victims of human trafficking to expunge certain criminal records related to their human trafficking victimization.
Our factsheet for these bills can be accessed here.
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HB 256
Allow Certain Crime Victims to Terminate Rental Agreements
Sponsors: Representative Sobecki, Representative Lepore-Hagan
Committee: House Civil Justice Committee
This bill aims to enhance protections for tenant-survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence by allowing survivors the option to terminate rental agreements and prohibiting a variety of retaliatory actions from landlords against tenant-survivors, among other protections.
For more information on the link between sexual violence and housing, check out this resource from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
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HB 480
Authorize private right of action for abortion or aiding abortion
Sponsors: Representative Powell, Representative Hall
Committee: House Families, Aging, & Human Services Committee
Ohio House Bill 480 was introduced on November 2, 2021. If passed, it would ban all abortions in Ohio — going further than the Texas anti-abortion law that was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 1st. OAESV is concerned because, just like Texas’s Senate Bill 8, the Ohio bill has no exceptions for rape or incest. Survivors deserve to have control over what happens to their bodies in the aftermath of rape or incest.
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HB 390
Require sex assault exam kits for trafficking in persons cases
Sponsors: Representative Lanese, Representative John
Committee: Senate Judiciary Committee (Passed House)
Ohio House Bill 390 would add trafficking in persons cases (ORC 2905.32) to the list of crimes that are required to be tested and submitted to a governmental evidence-retention entity for DNA analysis of the contents of the kit, if a DNA analysis has not previously been performed on the kit.
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Upcoming Trainings and Events | |
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Learn more about two advocacy topics on one day: strangulation and CPOs. A total of 6 hours are pending approval for CEUS, 3 hours on each topic.
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"It's not choking: Strangulation & SV" will focus on safety planning, health, and warning signs, what every advocate should know about strangulation and the connection to sexual violence.
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"Pre, peri, and post: CPO Advocacy" will focus on working with survivors before, during, and after civil protection order processes, with a special emphasis on pro se issues strategies.
Register by October 6th here.
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Many news stories covering sexual violence can be re-traumatizing for those interviewed, covered in the stories, or reading the stories. In order to write and publishing stories that are more informative and less traumatizing for the public, as well as distributed more widely, journalists can learn trauma-informed and survivor-centered practices.
Attendees will leave with:
- a general understanding of trauma and how it effects interviewees and readers, including survivors of sexual violence and those who work with them.
- trauma-informed and survivor-centered practices of journalism, such as terminology to use and interviewing strategies.
- strategies to navigate breaking news expectations and how to collaborate and develop relationships with survivors and those who work with them
- time spent with others in similar positions and the opportunity to share ideas and collaborate
Speakers include journalists Rachel Dissell, Rachel Lovell, and Christopher Johnston with more to be announced!
Ohio journalists are invited to attend! Register by October 21st here. We would like to save this space for journalists, so if you are not in that role please reconsider registering and consider sharing this opportunity with journalists in your network.
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In this engaging virtual training, participants will learn the how and why of social media analysis. Participants will leave with an increased understanding of the importance of social media analysis, how to interpret the data, and how to build out an analysis plan.
Register by October 17th here.
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OAESV's Legislative Newsletter is funded by a generous grant from the George Gund Foundation, a private Ohio non-profit organization that has donated $722 million dollars since 1952 to projects that advance human welfare and society. | | | | | |
