HARRISBURG – The House of Representatives today unanimously approved a bill sponsored by Sen. Wayne Langerholc, Jr. (R-35) to establish a statewide rape kit evidence tracking system.
Senate Bill 920 allows survivors to track the status of their rape kits throughout the testing process, from collection to destruction. With this legislation, Pennsylvania will join 35 states and the District of Columbia that have already implemented rape kit tracking systems.
“Senate Bill 920 strengthens our commitment to empowering survivors and holding offenders accountable,” Langerholc said. “Establishing a rape kit tracking system in Pennsylvania will enable sexual assault survivors to monitor the status of their kits during an investigation, bringing transparency and accountability to the process.”
In addition to creating a rape kit tracking system, Senate Bill 920 brings Pennsylvania into compliance with the Fairness for Rape Kit Backlog Survivors provision of the recent Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization.
To comply with VAWA, the bill provides a waiver for survivors who file untimely claims for compensation due to delays in rape kit testing. Survivors will not need to undergo an appeal process for consideration of this waiver.
Senate Bill 920 also empowers survivors by clarifying existing rights and enshrining new statutory rights for survivors of sexual assault.
This legislation builds on Langerholc’s leadership in supporting survivors of sexual assault. In 2018, he sponsored Act 164 to streamline the process of collecting sexual assault evidence and require regular reporting on related data. In 2019, he sponsored Act 29, which enacted a comprehensive bill of rights for survivors in Pennsylvania.
Senate Bill 920 now heads to the governor’s desk.
CONTACT: Gwenn Dando