I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5571 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide sexual assault survivors 

with certain rights, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2016 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, 

and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide sexual 

assault survivors with certain rights, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sexual Assault Sur5 vivors’ Rights Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDING. 

7 Congress finds that there is a substantial Federal in8 terest in encouraging more sexual assault survivors to 


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1 come forward and cooperate with law enforcement inves2 tigations and prosecutions. 

3 SEC. 3. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS’ RIGHTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 18, United States Code, is 

5 amended by adding after chapter 237 the following: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 238—SEXUAL ASSAULT 

7 SURVIVORS’ RIGHTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3772. Sexual assault survivors’ rights. 

8 ‘‘§ 3772. Sexual assault survivors’ rights 

9 ‘‘(a) RIGHTS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS.—In 

10 addition to those rights provided in section 3771, a sexual 

11 assault survivor has the following rights: 

12 ‘‘(1) The right not to be prevented from, or 

13 charged for, receiving a medical forensic examina14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(2) The right to— 

16 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (3), have a sex17 ual assault evidence collection kit or its pro18 bative contents preserved, without charge, for 

19 the duration of the maximum applicable statute 

20 of limitations; 

21 ‘‘(B) be informed of any result of a sexual 

22 assault evidence collection kit, including a DNA 

23 profile match, toxicology report, or other infor24 mation collected as part of a medical forensic 


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1 examination, if such disclosure would not im2 pede or compromise an ongoing investigation; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(C) be informed in writing of policies gov5 erning the collection and preservation of a sex6 ual assault evidence collection kit. 

7 ‘‘(3) The right to— 

8 ‘‘(A) upon written request, receive written 

9 notification from the prosecutor not later than 

10 60 days before the date of the intended destruc11 tion or disposal of the evidence collection kit or 

12 its probative contents; and 

13 ‘‘(B) upon written request, be granted fur14 ther preservation of the kit or its probative con15 tents. 

16 ‘‘(4) The right to be informed of the rights 

17 under this subsection. 

18 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsections (b) through (f) of 

19 section 3771 shall apply to sexual assault survivors. 

20 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR.— 

21 For purposes of this section, the term ‘sexual assault sur22 vivor’ includes a legal representative of a deceased victim 

23 of sexual assault acting on behalf of the victim.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

2 The table of chapters for part II of title 18, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘238. Sexual assault survivors’ rights ....................................... 3772’’. 

4 SEC. 4. SERVICES TO SURVIVORS. 

5 Section 503(c)(1) of the Victims Rights and Restitu6 tion Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 10607(c)(1)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, includ8 ing sexual assault service providers’’ before the semi9 colon at the end; 

10 (2) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, includ11 ing sexual assault counseling’’ before the semicolon 

12 at the end; and 

13 (3) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, includ14 ing national and local sexual assault hotlines’’ before 

15 the period at the end. 

16 SEC. 5. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS NOTIFICATION 

17 GRANTS. 

18 The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 is amended by 

19 adding after section 1404E (42 U.S.C. 10603e) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1404F. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS NOTIFICATION 

22 GRANTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may make 

24 grants as provided in section 1404(c)(1)(A) to States to 

25 develop and disseminate to entities described in subsection 


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1 (c)(1) written notice of applicable rights and policies for 

2 sexual assault survivors. 

3 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION OF RIGHTS.—Each recipient of 

4 a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall make its best 

5 effort to ensure that each entity described in subsection 

6 (c)(1) provides individuals who identify as a survivor of 

7 a sexual assault, and who consent to receiving such infor8 mation, with written notice of applicable rights and poli9 cies regarding— 

10 ‘‘(1) the right not to be charged fees for or oth11 erwise prevented from pursuing a sexual assault evi12 dence collection kit; 

13 ‘‘(2) the right to have a sexual assault medical 

14 forensic examination regardless of whether the sur15 vivor reports to or cooperates with law enforcement; 

16 ‘‘(3) the availability of a sexual assault advo17 cate; 

18 ‘‘(4) the availability of protective orders and 

19 policies related to their enforcement; 

20 ‘‘(5) policies regarding the storage, preserva21 tion, and disposal of sexual assault evidence collec22 tion kits; 

23 ‘‘(6) the process, if any, to request preservation 

24 of sexual assault evidence collection kits or the pro25 bative evidence from such kits; and 


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1 ‘‘(7) the availability of victim compensation and 

2 restitution. 

3 ‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION OF WRITTEN NOTICE.—Each 

4 recipient of a grant awarded under subsection (a) shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) provide the written notice described in sub6 section (b) to medical centers, hospitals, forensic ex7 aminers, sexual assault service providers, State and 

8 local law enforcement agencies, and any other State 

9 agency or department reasonably likely to serve sex10 ual assault survivors; and 

11 ‘‘(2) make the written notice described in sub12 section (b) publicly available on the Internet website 

13 of the attorney general of the State. 

14 ‘‘(d) PROVISION TO PROMOTE COMPLIANCE.—The 

15 Attorney General may provide such technical assistance 

16 and guidance as necessary to help recipients meet the re17 quirements of this section. 

18 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS.—Any system devel19 oped and implemented under this section may be inte20 grated with an existing case management system operated 

21 by the recipient of the grant if the system meets the re22 quirements listed in this section. 

23 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR.— 

24 For purposes of this section, the term ‘sexual assault surVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:19 Jun 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5571.IH H5571

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1 vivor’ includes a legal representative of a deceased victim 

2 of sexual assault acting on behalf of the victim.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. WORKING GROUP. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General and the 

5 Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in 

6 this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a joint 

7 working group (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Working 

8 Group’’) to develop, coordinate, and disseminate best prac9 tices regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault 

10 survivors and the preservation of forensic evidence. 

11 (b) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

12 Working Group shall consult with— 

13 (1) stakeholders in law enforcement, prosecu14 tion, forensic laboratory, counseling, forensic exam15 iner, medical facility, and medical provider commu16 nities; and 

17 (2) representatives from not less than 3 na18 tional organizations and State coalitions with dem19 onstrated expertise in sexual assault prevention, sex20 ual assault advocacy, or representation of sexual as21 sault victims, particularly representatives of under22 served or ethnic minority communities. 

23 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Working Group shall be 

24 composed of the following members: 


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1 (1) The Administrator of the Health Resources 

2 and Services Administration. 

3 (2) The Administrator of the Centers for Medi4 care and Medicaid Services. 

5 (3) The Director of the Centers for Disease 

6 Control and Prevention. 

7 (4) The Director of the Indian Health Service. 

8 (5) The Director of the Office for Victims of 

9 Crime. 

10 (6) The Assistant Attorney General for the Of11 fice of Justice Programs. 

12 (7) The Director of the Office on Violence 

13 Against Women. 

14 (8) Other governmental or nongovernmental 

15 agency heads at the discretion of the Attorney Gen16 eral or the Secretary. 

17 (d) DUTIES.—The Working Group shall— 

18 (1) improve the coordination of the dissemina19 tion and implementation of best practices and proto20 cols regarding the care and treatment of sexual as21 sault survivors and the preservation of evidence to 

22 hospital administrators, physicians, forensic exam23 iners, and other medical associations and leaders in 

24 the medical community; 


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1 (2) develop and implement, where appropriate, 

2 clinical guidelines and other incentives to encourage 

3 the adoption and implementation of best practices 

4 and protocols regarding the care and treatment of 

5 sexual assault survivors and the preservation of evi6 dence among hospital administrators, physicians, fo7 rensic examiners, and other medical associations and 

8 leaders in the medical community; 

9 (3) improve the coordination of the dissemina10 tion and implementation of best practices regarding 

11 the care and treatment of sexual assault survivors 

12 and the preservation of evidence to State attorneys 

13 general, United States attorneys, heads of State law 

14 enforcement agencies, forensic laboratory directors 

15 and managers, and other leaders in the law enforce16 ment community; 

17 (4) develop and implement, where appropriate, 

18 incentives to encourage the adoption or implementa19 tion of best practices regarding the care and treat20 ment of sexual assault survivors and the preserva21 tion of evidence among State attorneys general, 

22 United States attorneys, heads of State law enforce23 ment agencies, forensic laboratory directors and 

24 managers, and other leaders in the law enforcement 

25 community; 


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1 (5) collect feedback from stakeholders, practi2 tioners, and leadership throughout the Federal and 

3 State law enforcement, victim services, forensic 

4 science practitioner, and health care communities to 

5 inform development of future best practices or clin6 ical guidelines regarding the care and treatment of 

7 sexual assault survivors; and 

8 (6) perform other activities, such as activities 

9 relating to development, dissemination, outreach, en10 gagement, or training associated with advancing vic11 tim-centered care for sexual assault survivors. 

12 (e) INITIAL OPERATING PLAN.—Not later than 120 

13 days after its first meeting, the Working Group shall sub14 mit to the Attorney General, the Secretary, and Congress 

15 an operating plan for carrying out the activities of the 

16 Working Group. 

17 (f) MEETINGS.—The Working Group shall— 

18 (1) hold its first meeting not later than 90 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act; and 

20 (2) meet not fewer than 2 times and not more 

21 than 5 times each year. 

22 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

23 of enactment of this Act, the Working Group shall submit 

24 to the Attorney General, the Secretary, and Congress a 


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1 report containing the findings and recommended actions 

2 of the Working Group. 

3 (h) SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR DEFINED.—In this 

4 section, the term ‘‘sexual assault survivor’’ includes a legal 

5 representative of a deceased victim of sexual assault acting 

6 on behalf of the victim. 

Æ 


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