CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - President Barack Obama has signed into law a federal bill of rights for survivors of sexual assault.
The measure authored by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire ensures that survivors in federal criminal cases have the right to a sexual assault evidence collection kit, to be told of the results and to be notified in writing before the kit is destroyed.
Lawmakers say they are troubled by the number of untested rape kits that remain in the country, despite efforts to reduce a national backlog.
The bill was prompted by Amanda Nguyen, a former Harvard University student who was sexually assaulted in Massachusetts and now leads an advocacy group that helps assault survivors.
Shaheen said Friday that the nation’s laws now stand firmly on the side of survivors of sexual assault.
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