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Sexual assault victims deserve protection

Salina Journal - 7/10/2017

On June 30, Jacob Ewing was found guilty of raping and sodomizing two women - one in 2014, and the other in 2016. Special prosecutor Jacqie Spradling cited testimony from two sexual assault nurse examiners and a psychology professor who pointed out how rarely sexual crimes are reported and explained that many victims wait years to come forward. The lurid details of the Ewing case are well-known to many Kansans, but we should also remember that thousands of victims' stories have never been told. However, Kansas lawmakers and Gov. Sam Brownback recently enacted measures that will make it safer for victims to report sexual assault - a move that will hopefully encourage more of them to do so.

Senate Bill 112 establishes the crime of aggravated domestic battery (a level seven felony) in cases where an offender chokes an intimate partner or a "family or household member." It also requires courts to consider active or prior protective orders in the sentencing of offenders who have been convicted of domestic battery. Lawmakers added sexual assault to the legal definition of abuse and made it easier for victims to obtain protection orders.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 101 allows victims of sexual assault to request "compensation for mental health counseling" from the Crime Victims Compensation Board within two years of being notified that "evidence has revealed a DNA profile of a suspected offender who victimized the claimant" or that the suspect's identity has been discovered. Eligibility for this assistance used to expire two years after the alleged crime took place. Attorney General Derek Schmidt described this change - along with the aggravated domestic battery designation - as "important new tools in our ongoing efforts to counter domestic violence and support victims of sexual assault."

Joyce Grover is the executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, and she's enthusiastic about the work lawmakers did this session: "We are really excited this Legislature has picked up these issues as being critical safety issues for victims and survivors. They will provide safety all over the state for years to come." The bills that were passed this session send a powerful message to perpetrators and victims: Kansas is a state that aggressively protects those who have been sexually assaulted.

Kansas is quickly becoming a national model on domestic violence laws. For example, under the leadership of Schmidt and his predecessor, Steve Six, Kansas has certified more than 60 batterer intervention programs that work in conjunction with 27 victim service organizations across the state. These programs provide victims and their families with counseling, shelters, court assistance and a range of other services.

State officials should be commended for protecting victims and ensuring that their attackers can't escape justice.

The Topeka Capital-Journal