Iowa House introduces sexual assault survivor ‘bill of rights’

View House File 263

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

A bill introduced by the Iowa House of Representatives would offer survivors of sexual assault a “bill of rights” when interacting with medical personnel and law enforcement.

House File 263 also establishes a statewide tracking system of all untested rape kits — weeks after the Iowa Attorney General’s Office announced 43 percent of all law enforcement agencies in Iowa are storing untested rape kits.

After a year-long audit done by the Attorney General’s Office, state workers announced the Nashua Police Department is storing two of the 4,265 untested kits that could hold potential evidence in cases of sexual assault. The statewide findings of all 387 law enforcement agencies in Iowa were released March 9.

The bill, which was introduced to the House floor on Friday morning, requires the Iowa Department of Public Safety to develop a statewide kit tracking system by Jan. 1 2018.

Survivors of sexual assault would be allowed to anonymously receive updates or track the testing status of their kit, and the Department of Justice would be required to submit an annual tracking system report starting Jan. 15 2019.

That report, available to the public through the DOJ’s website, would report the total number of kits statewide, the total number of kits tested and the total number of kits that remain untested.

The bill also outlines rights for survivors of sexual assault and the duties of law enforcement agencies responding to cases of alleged sexual assault. Rights of survivors reporting alleged sexual assault include:

• The right to decline to submit to a polygraph examination before filing an accusation.
• The right to request the status of rape kit evidence analysis from law enforcement agencies; plus receive instructions for requesting results and status from law enforcement agencies.
• The right to consult with a counselor during medical examinations, or interviews with officers, county attorneys or defense attorneys.
• The right to submit written request for a free, complete and unaltered copy of all law enforcement reports concerning the survivor’s case.
• The right to a free medical evidentiary examination (survivors will not be charged “either directly or indirectly”); plus the right to shower after an exam, at no cost, unless showering facilities are not available.
• The right to “know the ramifications of delaying a medical evidentiary examination if a counselor is unable to be summoned.”

The bill also outlines the duties of law enforcement agencies investigating.

The full bill is available online at www.legis.iowa.gov, or a full PDF version is available at www.charlescitypress.com.