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A bill recently introduced in the State Senate and co-sponsored by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley would require the state to create an online portal to allow sexual assault survivors to track the status of their evidence kit processing.
The portal, which would be added to an existing system used by law enforcement agencies, would allow survivors of sexual assault crimes to track the evidence kit in their case anonymously to learn about its location and whether it has been tested. Senate Bill 215 was authored by State Senator Connie Leyva (D-Chino), who has worked with O’Malley on other past legislation in support of survivors’ rights.
“Sexual assault survivors should have the right to know whether their evidence kits have been tested,” DA O’Malley said in a statement after the bill’s introduction last month. “After bravely undergoing an exam after an assault, this bill will provide survivors with the ability to track the kit to ensure that law enforcement is doing their statutory duty to analyze the evidence in a timely manner.”
SB 215 aims to expand the existing “Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Tracking” (SAFE-T) database by creating an electronic access point for survivors to obtain information about their kits, building upon precedent established in more than two-dozen other states with similar tracking websites, according to the DA’s office.
Though current California law mandates kit tracking and access to that information for survivors, there is not a system in place for them to seamlessly and anonymously track the status electronically, officials said.
“SB 215 empowers rape survivors by making sure that they know where their kit is in the process,” Leyva said in a statement. “We have all heard the countless stories of survivors finding out years after the rape kit was collected that the kit itself was never processed and actually sat on a shelf in a lab somewhere for years gathering dust. After having been raped and then undergoing an invasive rape kit exam, a survivor should certainly be able to track the status of the rape kit anonymously and whenever they would like.”
“In late 2019, the governor signed my SB 22, which now requires the prompt testing of rape kits. SB 215 is the logical next step so that rape survivors can remain informed — and we can continue to ensure justice by holding rapists accountable for their crimes,” she added.
SB 22 was among several successful state bills sponsored by O’Malley to empower sexual assault survivors and better protect their rights under the law.
