Laws fail survivors! why sexual violence laws must change and what victims need to know
The legal system is failing you, here's why, and what must change
Laws Fail Survivors
Sexual Violence Laws Must Change to Better Support Victims
Why does the law treat sexual assault differently from murder?
Sexual assault is murder. Our current system fails sexual assault victims.
I want sexual assault to be treated the same way murder is treated under the law. When a woman or child is sexually violated, the person she once was dies. She is dead and gone. She's afraid to report because of rape culture. Rape culture protects the predator and punishes the survivor. Our society does not support bringing sexual predators to justice
Changing the laws will change rape culture. If rape isn't given the weight it deserves in the legal system, men, police officers, judges, lawyers and juries will never take it seriously.
Our entire legal system, in fact, our entire society, is designed to shame survivors of sexual assault into silence.
What are the key statistics victims need to know?
The scale of the crisis, in numbers
1 in 5
Girls and women are sexually violated, equivalent to approximately one quarter of all women
80%
Of all women in America have been sexually harassed
99.9%
Of perpetrators will never be brought to justice under the current system
What if we were aware that 1 in 5 (or more) of all girls and women were murdered? That means that almost all of those girls and women will have their life destroyed, while her abuser goes on to live a happy, sometimes very successful life.
What law changes would actually protect survivors?
5 demands that would transform the legal system for survivors
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Classify sexual violence as domestic terrorism
Recognize the widespread and long-term harm of sexual violence by designating it as domestic terrorism under federal law.
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Abolish all statutes of limitations for sexual violenceEliminate time limits for prosecuting sexual violence cases for victims of all ages, not just children.
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Make new sexual assault laws retroactive
Allow future sexual assault legislation to apply to past cases so survivors can benefit from expanded protections and justice.
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Mandate rape kit processing within 21 days
Require law enforcement to test all rape kits within three weeks to ensure timely justice and prevent evidence from being ignored or lost.
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Expand sexual harassment protections to all public spaces
Apply sexual harassment laws beyond the workplace including bars, public transport, stores, schools and more.
Why are rape kits left untested? What happens to evidence?
Sexual assault is so pervasive it has become normalized, including the erasure of evidence
It has become normal for hundreds of rape kits to sit untouched on police station shelves, sometimes for decades. If reporting rape isn't made as safe and straightforward as reporting something like a stolen car, we will keep seeing the same things:
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Rapists getting elected president.
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Trump bribing Maxwell to lie for him.
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Pedophiles and rapists walking free.
And if nothing changes it won't just keep happening, it will get worse.
What does sexual assault actually feel like from the inside?
A note from a survivor
In her own words
"It would have been better if I'd been shot. Then you would see the hole in me. Then you would see how it killed me. Then you would see how dead I am inside. What you see now is an empty shell trying to act like a human being. Why didn't I speak up? Why didn't I tell someone? Why didn't I #sayhisname? Because there was no more 'me'. My home was invaded and 'I' was killed when he stabbed me over and over."
What does justice and remuneration look like for survivors?
Mandatory prison time. And remuneration.
Native American people are remunerated for the abuse perpetrated on them by the racial genocide of white people. I want sexual violence against women, that has gone on since the dawn of man, to be recognized as domestic terrorism, and I want women to be remunerated in the way Native American people were.
Mandatory prison time for first time offenders.
Why are perpetrators' names being protected?
The names of sexual predators are being protected, and that must end
You've heard the recording of Trump saying he would release Kennedy files but might not release all of the Epstein files because he doesn't want to potentially ruin the life of a perpetrator.
When I found my perpetrator online and started talking about reaching out to him, and when he didn't respond, his friends and family asked me why I wanted to ruin his life. That is laughable
Rapists and pedophiles have anonymity. They are treated with more care and respect than the women they have violated.
The #MeToo movement only got us so far. So what, everyone and their mother was sexually assaulted? Now that people know, they assume nothing really happened. What we need is the #SayHisName® movement.
Questions survivors are searching for answers to
What survivors want to know, answered directly
Why do women have to be careful of men?
Isn't it time that men started being careful with women?
Why didn't I report sooner?
Because rape culture, victim blaming, and a legal system designed to shame survivors into silence made it impossible. It is not your fault. It was never your fault.
What if my statute of limitations has already run out?
That is exactly why we are fighting to abolish all statutes of limitations for sexual violence, for victims of all ages, and make new laws retroactive. Your story still matters. Your voice still matters.
Why are there hundreds of untested rape kits sitting in police stations?
Because under the current system, sexual assault is not given the weight of murder. We are demanding rape kit processing be mandated within 21 days, no exceptions.
Is it safe to say his name publicly?
It's not slander if it's true. The #SayHisName® movement exists to give survivors the courage, community, and legal context to speak their truth. You are not alone.
The #SayHisName® movement®
Say his name. Demand change.
Help end sexual violence.
The #SayHisName documentary series exists to shatter the silence, change the laws, and give every survivor the platform and protection they deserve. Join the movement. Donate to the film. Make your voice impossible to ignore.