I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5578 

To establish certain rights for sexual assault survivors, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2016 

Mrs. MIMI WALTERS of California (for herself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. GOODLATTE, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. GOWDY, Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RICHMOND, Ms. NORTON, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Ms. 

STEFANIK, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Mr. COHEN, Mr. KEATING, Mr. 

BEYER, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. TSONGAS, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. DELBENE, 

and Mr. FARR) 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 establish certain rights for sexual assault survivors, 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 ‘‘Survivors’ Bill of 

5 Rights Act of 2016’’. 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5578 IH

1 SEC. 2. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS’ RIGHTS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part II of title 18, United States 

3 Code, is amended by adding after chapter 237 the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘CHAPTER 238—SEXUAL ASSAULT 

6 SURVIVORS’ RIGHTS 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘3772. Sexual assault survivors’ rights. 

7 ‘‘§ 3772. Sexual assault survivors’ rights 

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

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

10 assault survivor has the following rights: 

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

12 charged for, receiving a medical forensic examina13 tion. 

14 ‘‘(2) The right to— 

15 ‘‘(A) subject to paragraph (3), have a sex16 ual assault evidence collection kit or its pro17 bative contents preserved, without charge, for 

18 the duration of the maximum applicable statute 

19 of limitations or 20 years, whichever is shorter; 

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

21 assault evidence collection kit, including a DNA 

22 profile match, toxicology report, or other infor23 mation collected as part of a medical forensic 

24 examination, if such disclosure would not imVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Jun 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5578.IH H5578

emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5578 IH

1 pede or compromise an ongoing investigation; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(C) be informed in writing of policies gov4 erning the collection and preservation of a sex5 ual assault evidence collection kit. 

6 ‘‘(3) The right to— 

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

8 notification from the appropriate official with 

9 custody not later than 60 days before the date 

10 of the intended destruction or disposal; and 

11 ‘‘(B) upon written request, be granted fur12 ther preservation of the kit or its probative con13 tents. 

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

15 under this subsection. 

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

17 section 3771 shall apply to sexual assault survivors. 

18 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF SEXUAL ASSAULT.—In this sec19 tion, the term ‘sexual assault’ means any nonconsensual 

20 sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, in21 cluding when the victim lacks capacity to consent. 

22 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—This section, other than paragraphs 

23 (2)(A) and (3)(B) of subsection (a), shall be carried out 

24 using funds made available under section 1402(d)(3)(A)(i) 

25 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5578 IH

1 10601(d)(3)(A)(i)). No additional funds are authorized to 

2 be appropriated to carry out this section.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

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

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

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

6 (c) AMENDMENT TO VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT OF

7 1984.—Section 1402(d)(3)(A)(i) of the Victims of Crime 

8 Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10601(d)(3)(A)(i)) is amended by 

9 inserting after ‘‘section 3771’’ the following: ‘‘or section 

10 3772, as it relates to direct services,’’. 

11 SEC. 3. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS’ NOTIFICATION 

12 GRANTS. 

13 The Victims of Crime Act of 1984 is amended by 

14 adding after section 1404E (42 U.S.C. 10603e) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 1404F. SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS’ NOTIFICATION 

17 GRANTS. 

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

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

20 develop and disseminate to entities described in subsection 

21 (c)(1) of this section written notice of applicable rights 

22 and policies for sexual assault survivors. 

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

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

25 effort to ensure that each entity described in subsection 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5578 IH

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

2 a sexual assault, and who consent to receiving such infor3 mation, with written notice of applicable rights and poli4 cies regarding— 

5 ‘‘(1) the right not to be charged fees for or oth6 erwise prevented from pursuing a sexual assault evi7 dence collection kit; 

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

9 forensic examination regardless of whether the sur10 vivor reports to or cooperates with law enforcement; 

11 ‘‘(3) the availability of a sexual assault advo12 cate; 

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

14 policies related to their enforcement; 

15 ‘‘(5) policies regarding the storage, preserva16 tion, and disposal of sexual assault evidence collec17 tion kits; 

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

19 of sexual assault evidence collection kits or the pro20 bative evidence from such kits; and 

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

22 restitution. 

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

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


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5578 IH

1 ‘‘(1) provide the written notice described in sub2 section (b) to medical centers, hospitals, forensic ex3 aminers, sexual assault service providers, State and 

4 local law enforcement agencies, and any other State 

5 agency or department reasonably likely to serve sex6 ual assault survivors; and 

7 ‘‘(2) make the written notice described in sub8 section (b) publicly available on the Internet website 

9 of the attorney general of the State. 

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

11 Attorney General may provide such technical assistance 

12 and guidance as necessary to help recipients meet the re13 quirements of this section. 

14 ‘‘(e) INTEGRATION OF SYSTEMS.—Any system devel15 oped and implemented under this section may be inte16 grated with an existing case management system operated 

17 by the recipient of the grant if the system meets the re18 quirements listed in this section.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. WORKING GROUP. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, in con21 sultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Serv22 ices (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall 

23 establish a joint working group (referred to in this section 

24 as the ‘‘Working Group’’) to develop, coordinate, and dis25 seminate best practices regarding the care and treatment 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5578 IH

1 of sexual assault survivors and the preservation of forensic 

2 evidence. 

3 (b) CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

4 Working Group shall consult with— 

5 (1) stakeholders in law enforcement, prosecu6 tion, forensic laboratory, counseling, forensic exam7 iner, medical facility, and medical provider commu8 nities; and 

9 (2) representatives of not less than 3 entities 

10 with demonstrated expertise in sexual assault pre11 vention, sexual assault advocacy, or representation 

12 of sexual assault victims, of which not less than 1 

13 representative shall be a sexual assault victim. 

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

15 composed of governmental or nongovernmental agency 

16 heads at the discretion of the Attorney General, in con17 sultation with the Secretary. 

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

19 (1) develop recommendations for improving the 

20 coordination of the dissemination and implementa21 tion of best practices and protocols regarding the 

22 care and treatment of sexual assault survivors and 

23 the preservation of evidence to hospital administra24 tors, physicians, forensic examiners, and other medVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:09 Jun 28, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5578.IH H5578

emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5578 IH

1 ical associations and leaders in the medical commu2 nity; 

3 (2) encourage, where appropriate, the adoption 

4 and implementation of best practices and protocols 

5 regarding the care and treatment of sexual assault 

6 survivors and the preservation of evidence among 

7 hospital administrators, physicians, forensic exam8 iners, and other medical associations and leaders in 

9 the medical community; 

10 (3) develop recommendations to promote the co11 ordination of the dissemination and implementation 

12 of best practices regarding the care and treatment of 

13 sexual assault survivors and the preservation of evi14 dence to State attorneys general, United States at15 torneys, heads of State law enforcement agencies, fo16 rensic laboratory directors and managers, and other 

17 leaders in the law enforcement community; 

18 (4) develop and implement, where practicable, 

19 incentives to encourage the adoption or implementa20 tion of best practices regarding the care and treat21 ment of sexual assault survivors and the preserva22 tion of evidence among State attorneys general, 

23 United States attorneys, heads of State law enforce24 ment agencies, forensic laboratory directors and 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5578 IH

1 managers, and other leaders in the law enforcement 

2 community; 

3 (5) collect feedback from stakeholders, practi4 tioners, and leadership throughout the Federal and 

5 State law enforcement, victim services, forensic 

6 science practitioner, and health care communities to 

7 inform development of future best practices or clin8 ical guidelines regarding the care and treatment of 

9 sexual assault survivors; and 

10 (6) perform other activities, such as activities 

11 relating to development, dissemination, outreach, en12 gagement, or training associated with advancing vic13 tim-centered care for sexual assault survivors. 

14 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

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

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

17 report containing the findings and recommended actions 

18 of the Working Group. 

Æ 


emcdonald on DSK9F6TC42PROD with BILLS