This commentary is by Gina Tron, a volunteer for the nonprofit organization Rise, an advocate for survivor-centered reforms, and a survivor of sexual assault.  Sitting in the Special Victims Division of the New York Police Department (NYPD), I fought back tears as I scoured through mugshots , an effort the detective told me was pointless. Just a few minutes earlier, when I said I wanted to call a friend to be with me, he threatened to throw out what he termed my “iffy case.” At the time, I didn’t know survivors had the right to a support person. I didn’t know I could insist on emotional safety. All I knew was that if I wanted any chance of justice, I had to obey this detective. So in 2010, I sat alone, panicked and dissociated. READ MORE Later, when my case was transferred to a more compassionate detective after my attacker was linked to two other assaults, I was simply relieved to be treated with basic respect. I didn’t yet have the grounding or clarity to see that even he wasn’t gathering all the evidence available. If I could go back in time, I would have been more assertive. I would have made sure investigators documented everything that could lead to a conviction.  But that’s the point: no survivor in crisis can be expected to advocate perfectly for themselves. When I told all of this to U.S. Department of Justice investigators in 2021 during their civil rights investigation into the NYPD’s Special Victims Division, they shook their heads. They’d heard stories like mine far too many times. Vermont has a statutory Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, including a requirement that survivors receive written notice of certain rights when they report an assault. But it leaves some essential protections unwritten.  Drawing directly from my experience, and acting as a volunteer for the nonprofit Rise, which advocates for survivor-led legal reforms, I drafted an update to Vermont’s survivors’ bill of rights and brought that proposal to two local lawmakers.  That survivor-led draft became the foundation for H.703, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Gina Galfetti, R-Barre Town, and Rep. Conor Casey, D-Montpelier, introduced in mid-January. The proposed legislation strengthens and codifies protections, including the right to always have a support person present. While support people are allowed in practice, the absence of enforceable language means survivors are still vulnerable to possible intimidation or retaliation at the discretion of individual officers.  A law like this would have changed everything for me, both emotionally and materially. A support person could have helped me insist that officers record crucial evidence and challenged intimidation tactics. H.703 ensures survivors receive written notification of their rights before interviews begin, strengthening existing law by making knowledge automatic rather than optional. Survivors should not be expected to assert rights they were never clearly informed they had. The bill would put in writing that survivors have the right to counsel during all interactions with law enforcement or prosecutors. Survivors deserve the option to have privately retained counsel present during criminal justice interactions who understands the system and can shield them from coercion or mistreatment.  It would also put in writing that survivors have the right to request an interviewer of a particular gender. While this accommodation exists in practice in Vermont, survivors may not know they can ask. H.703 includes protections for forensic evidence, ensuring rape kit results cannot be used to prosecute survivors for unrelated crimes, such as drug possession. No one should fear reporting an assault because it might incriminate them down the road. While this is typically practiced in Vermont, it is not in writing.  Survivors shouldn’t depend on luck or a detective’s lack of arrogance. They shouldn’t need to become activists just to ensure basic respect. But many of us have had to.  In my case, I was up against more than an underperforming system. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my attacker was the personal trainer of a billionaire who bailed him out of Rikers Island and funded all his legal defenses.  In the years since my assault, I have advocated for survivors, writing about systemic failures in my case long before #MeToo, pushing for legislative change, and urging the Department of Justice to investigate the NYPD’s Special Victims Division for gender bias, which they did. I am currently suing my alleged rapist in civil court in an effort to get justice. A petition urging lawmakers to pass H.703 has already gathered more than 180 signatures. Vermonters can add their names or use it to urge their lawmakers to strengthen Vermont’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights. Passing H.703 does not replace Vermont’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights. It strengthens it.  By putting clearer safeguards into law, Vermont can ensure survivor protections do not depend on discretion, departmental culture, or individual goodwill.  In ensuring this passes, you are reminding the more than 182,000 sexual assault survivors in Vermont that they deserve the best support and that they matter.  Read the story on VTDigger here: Gina Tron: Strengthen Vermont’s survivors’ bill of rights. ...read more read less