New Laws to Celebrate ✅

Legislative Wins and Renewed Commitment

It was an incredibly busy end of the year at the State House (and unusual, given that the session usually wraps up in July, and it ended this time around on January 6). And we have many successes to celebrate! I have deep gratitude for all of you who called your legislators and reached out to Governor Baker about the bills we’ve been supporting. You’ve made into reality new laws that are important strides forward for survivors. 

✅ Higher education sexual violence surveys, policies, and prevention

Signed into law just this week, an Act Relative to Sexual Violence on Higher Education Campuses does several keys things: It institutes standard sexual misconduct climate surveys at colleges and universities throughout the state so that more survivors are heard and schools have the information they need to create effective practices for change. It ensures more robust options for survivors on campus to support their healing and continued education. And it requires that campuses provide clear information about their sexual violence policies to students and employees and engage them in programming to prevent sexual assault and harassment. 

✅ Support for survivors in the state budget

Lawmakers passed a state budget that included key increases that support survivors of sexual violence and prevention. This included a $5.34 million increase in funding for community-based sexual and domestic violence programs, an additional $2.5 million for through the newly established COVID-19 Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors’ Trust Fund, $1 million for prevention initiatives, and funding for the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) Program and other critical resources.

✅ Reproductive freedom

The key provisions of the ROE Act that lawmakers passed as part of the state budget will ensure survivors’ access to health care options, including abortion, and allow them to make whatever choices they decide will further their healing.

✅ Police reform 

An Act relative to Justice, Equity and Accountability in Law Enforcement in the Commonwealth is vital to improving one of the systems that survivors of sexual violence may interact with and one step forward for racial justice. An important part of the new law closes a loophole and legislates that any law enforcement officer who has sex with or indecently assaults a person in custody can be charged with rape or indecent assault and battery. 

I want to underscore that you made these victories possible this past session. Please take a moment to celebrate! 

There is one major outstanding issue from last session: 

❓Healthy Youth Act 

Passing the Healthy Youth Act was one of our main priorities this past session. Together with our fellow coalition members and your support, we moved the bull further than ever before in the 10 years it’s been before lawmakers. While legislators failed to pass the Healthy Youth Act this time, we have a renewed commitment to passing it in this new session. This bill will give Massachusetts students the foundation they need and deserve to lead healthy lives. By providing comprehensive sexuality education, focused on consent, schools can help prevent and reduce sexual assault and harassment.

We were pleased that legislators wanted to provide survivors with the services they need that are afforded by Roe Act. We were pleased that legislators believe sexual violence in higher education is a problem that needed to be addressed. For over 10 years, we have been asking legislators to provide adolescents the tools they need to prevent sexual violence. We hope that they will listen and take their efforts one step further: to focus on prevention, in addition to the services they afforded the community through this recent session.

We will not give up in our quest to pass the Healthy Youth Act, so stay tuned.