New York State Insider: New York State Assemblyman Mary Jane Shimsky 92nd District: Assembly Votes to Expand Justice for Victims of Sexual Assault.

 

Make no mistake: All forms of forcible,
nonconsensual sexual acts are rape.

The numbers are sickening. Every 68 seconds, a person in America is sexually assaulted. Every 9 minutes, that victim is a child. But, out of every 1,000 perpetrators, only 25 will end up serving a prison sentence. These abusers must be held accountable for their heinous actions, and that’s why I’m working to create a criminal justice system that empowers survivors of sexual assault. To that end, I have joined my Assembly colleagues in once again passing the ‘Rape is Rape’ bill to expand New York’s rape statutes and help more survivors seek justice (A.3340).

This bill removes the penetration requirement from the State’s rape statutes, and expands the definition of rape to include oral and anal sexual conduct crimes. Under current law, oral and anal sexual conduct are referred to as ‘criminal sexual acts’ and are not recognized as rape. Not calling these crimes what they are has both legal and emotional consequences for survivors — invalidating and adding to the trauma they’ve already endured.

In passing this bill, we’ve taken another step toward helping survivors seek the justice they deserve. I’ll always work to ensure that New York is a place where victims are heard and supported, and perpetrators are held accountable under the law.

MaryJane Shimsky
Assemblymember 92nd District