Louisiana Legislators want to close major gaps in how the state provides care for sexual assault survivors. As the Gulf States Newsroom reports, House Bill 531 advances to the floor of the Louisiana House of Representatives, after unanimous approval Wednesday by the Committee on Health and Welfare. HB531 mainly does two things: Hospitals have to tell sexual assault patients about where to get a forensic exam if one is unavailable. It also calls for an audit of the state’s current sexual assault response plans.
Representative C. Travis Johnson, D-Vidalia, proposed the bill. He says there’s a lack of uniformity across the state in how sexual assault survivors can get a forensic medical exam — commonly known as a rape kit. “This audit will give us all the information we need so we can come back next year and find a loopholes and making this process more uniform.”
Rep. Johnson says sexual assault patients are sometimes transferred from one hospital to another — with survivors sometimes driving themselves. He says that can create a barrier for accessing forensic exams, which play a vital role in prosecution.
