New Colorado law prohibits use of sex assault victims’ clothing or hairstyle as proof of consent
Defendants in Colorado sexual assault instances quickly might be prohibited from utilizing what a sufferer was carrying or a sufferer’s coiffure as proof of consent.
Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, who’s the performing governor this week, signed Home Invoice 1072 Wednesday afternoon. The bipartisan laws is geared toward strengthening protections for intercourse assault victims in court docket by increasing the rape defend regulation. It is going to take impact July 1.
The regulation additionally contains provisions severely limiting, in court docket hearings, the usage of a sufferer’s or witness’ sexual historical past together with accusations of a previous historical past of false reporting.
Supporters of the regulation hope it is going to cut back sufferer blaming in sexual misconduct crimes and improve victims’ participation within the felony justice course of by stopping the usage of humiliating and irrelevant info in courtroom interrogations.
“I’m proud to be a part of this growth to broaden protections for victims of sexual assault,” mentioned Rep. Lisa Frizell, a Fort Rock Republican and one of many invoice’s sponsors, in a press release. “It is a essential step in selling a good and simply authorized system for victims and guaranteeing the blame is positioned on the perpetrator, not the sufferer.”
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