Sexual Assault Victim Privacy Bill Introduced

Victims of sexual assault have undergone one of the most traumatic and life-altering experiences imaginable. When victims come forward, they deserve to be treated with respect and sensitivity. Rep. Radcliffe is circulating a major victim privacy bill in the state legislature. Please call your state legislators and ask them, “to protect the privacy of victims by co-sponsoring LRB 2067.”

Please call today. Read on for more information.

Our society will only end epidemic levels of sexual violence when victims can be assured that their privacy will be protected. When victims are subjected to public scrutiny or are cast into the media spotlight, the trust they have put in the legal system is violated. These experiences re-traumatize victims and send a message to other victims that they might be better off remaining silent. Providing privacy protection for victims is simply the right thing to do, and it enhances public safety by encouraging victims to come forward to hold perpetrators accountable.

LRB 2067 includes four main provisions, which will enhance privacy protections for survivors.

1. LRB 2067 creates a Wisconsin Civil Rape Shield.

Only one in sixteen rapists ever spends a day in jail for the crime. Therefore, the civil legal system is an alternate avenue in which victims seek justice. Unfortunately, because of differences in procedure in the civil and criminal systems, victims in the civil system can be exposed to greater intimidation and harassment from defendants. At the very least, defendants should not be allowed to question the victim about irrelevant details of her sexual history. Wisconsin and nearly every other state in the nation, long ago, created "Rape Shields," which prohibit this type of questioning in criminal court. LRB 2067 creates a Wisconsin Civil Rape Shield. With LRB 2067, Wisconsin can join a handful of states and the federal courts, which prohibit these tactics in civil court as well.

2. LRB 2067 prohibits courts from ordering victims to submit to a mental examination to assess his or her credibility as a condition of allowing the victim to testify.

Because of dangerous misconceptions and prejudice, victims of sexual assault are often perceived as “hysterical” or “crazy” when they have the courage to speak out against perpetrators. These faulty background notions often feed into defense strategies, which attempt to portray the victim as psychologically impaired. As part of these types of strategies, defendants request that the court order a victim to submit to a mental examination. In many cases, while defendants make sophisticated legal arguments, the only objective of these requests is to harass and discourage the victim.

The bill prohibits a court from ordering a witness or a victim, as a condition of allowing testimony in a criminal case involving sexual assault or other criminal acts that are sexually motivated, to submit to a mental examination to assess his or her credibility as a condition of allowing the victim to testify. Victims of sexual assault should not be singled out for suspicion and subjected to misplaced scrutiny.

3. LRB 2067 keeps crime victim compensation applications confidential.

Victims of sexual assault often face a number of financial costs as a result of the crime. Like other crime victims, survivors of sexual assault take advantage of Wisconsin's Crime Victim Compensation Program to recoup some of these costs. When applying for crime victim compensation, victims are required to provide contact information. Without LRB 2067, applications might be publicly available through open record requests, and victims' personal information might be divulged. The bill makes any personally identifiable information about a sexual assault victim on a crime victim compensation form confidential and not a public record.

4. LRB 2067 affirms defendants cannot require victims to answer questions regarding criminal cases outside of court.

The bill codifies Wisconsin case law, which holds that witnesses in criminal cases, including sexual assault victims, are not generally required to answer defense questions outside of the courtroom.

Patti Seger Milwaukee Sick Pay Ordinance Op-ed in Journal Sentinel

This morning the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an editorial written by Patti Seger (WCADV Executive Director), which urges the City to join health care and victim advocates in appealing a ruling that overturned the Milwaukee Sick Pay Ordinance. The ordinance would have allowed victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Milwaukee to take a few days of paid leave to relocate or get a restraining order. A judge ruled that these victim safety measures were constitutionally invalid.

Patti writes:

[The Judge] reasoned that permitting a victim time off to go to the hospital to receive medical treatment for an injury was within the ordinance's purpose of improving health and safety but that going to court or changing apartments to prevent the injury in the first place was not. Common sense and the experiences of victims make clear that Cooper was wrong.

[City Attorney] Langley and [Mayor] Barrett have a responsibility to defend the will of the electorate and to keep the city safe. If they do not appeal, they will have acquiesced to a legal precedent that unduly will constrain the city from protecting victims and eliminating violence in the future.

The coalition and the Sojourner Family Peace Center urge them to join health care and victim advocates in appealing Cooper's decision. Milwaukee voters understood the sick pay ordinance would make Milwaukee a healthier and safer city. With the support of the city attorney and mayor, we can affirm the wisdom of the voters and make sure that the courts do not prohibit the city from implementing smart policies to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault.

You can read the whole op-ed here.