Background
On the NCWU Legislative Report
Card, there was one Sexual Assault issue listed as "pending". Here
is additional information on that issue from the NCWU member organization, the
NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Bill information
H951
- Create Civil No-Contact Protective Orders.
S916
- Prevent Personal and Workplace Violence
Status
Both the House and Senate have passed legislation on this issue, so it is still
eligible for consideration in the short session.
Details
Currently North Carolina statute Chapter § 50 B provides protection only
to victims alleging domestic violence who have a "personal relationship"
with the offender. This does not include a victim of sexual assault, stalking
and/or computer solicitation, whose attacker maybe a fellow student, coworker
or family friend. These victims have no legal recourse when an offender follows
them, approaches them, sends threatening mail/email, enrolls in their class, shows
up at their place of work or contacts family members. Currently a victim's only
option is to report the stalking/harassment to law enforcement and wait for the
District Attorney to decide to prosecute the case.
- Currently many sexual assault victims' only protection from a rapist's ongoing
stalking/harassment is to report it to law enforcement and wait for the District
Attorney to hopefully prosecute the case.
- Most sexual assaults are committed by persons already known to the victim,
including 18% by an intimate or other relative and 48% by a friend or acquaintance.
(Crime Victimization 2001 Changes 200-01 with Trends 1993-2001. (2002)
Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey; Office of
Justice programs, U.S. Department of Justice: p. 8) Under North Carolina's
current statutes the 48% of victims who were raped or sexually assaulted by a
friend or acquaintance would be ineligible for an order of protection against
their attacker because the victim-perpetrator relationship does not qualify as
a "domestic relationship".
- A recent research report published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association found that 80% of victims who obtained a permanent protection order
were less likely to be assaulted again. Many states have broader protective order
coverage, and nationally states are moving towards establishing separate orders
of protection for victims of sexual violence. (Holt, Victoria L., Mary A. Kernic,
Thomas Lumley, Marsha E. Wolf, and Frederick P. Rivara. (2002) "Civil Protection
Orders and Risk of Subsequent Police-Reported Violence," Journal of the
American Medical Association, Vol. 288 NO. 5).
- Over 10,000 North Carolinians were affected by sexual violence last year.
(Sexual Assault Program Statewide Data: 7/01/01-6/30/02. (2002) NC Council
for Women; p. 1)
- NC Rape Crisis Centers reported 70% of victims knew their assailant last year.
(Sexual Assault Program Statewide Data: 7/01/01-6/30/02. (2002) NC Council
for Women; p. 1)
|
