Advocate for sexual-assault survivors takes her case to presidential candidate, 34th District Democrats:

During presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren‘s Seattle visit on Sunday, Leah Griffin had a request for the candidate:

As Griffin explained in a subsequent tweet, the “Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act will increase access to Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners so that fewer rape victims will be turned away from hospitals because they do not administer rape kits.”

Griffin has been fighting for this, and more, since becoming a rape survivor. She talked about her advocacy work earlier ths month at the August meeting of the 34th District Democrats.

She told the group how difficult it was dealing with the system just five years ago; she was turned away from a hospital that said “we don’t do rape kits,” and she could barely get police attention to report the crime, then could not get fair treatment from prosecutors “who did nothing but victim-blame.” She continued to fight. At one point she told her story to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who was incredulous that “rape kits” aren’t available at every hospital in the country. But just having the rape kit isn’t enough – a nurse trained to properly use it is needed. Griffin found that some states had no one available for hundreds of miles to collect evidence. She said that so many barriers to prosecution exist, less than 1 percent of rapists in the U.S. spend time in jail.

In the state Legislature in 2015, HB 1068 created a task force and mandated testing of rape kits. Now, “they’re automatically being sent to the state crime lab.” A tracking system also has been created.

HB 1109 passed two years ago “mandates trauma-informed interviewing for law-enforcement officers.”

HB 1166 passed this past year – 11,000 untested rape kits sitting in storage in our state will get tested. So far, Griffin said, they’ve identified at least a dozen serial offenders.

Also passed, she told the group: A bill that defines third-degree rape as when a victim “clearly demontrates with words and actions” that there was no consent has been amended to strike that language, which had made prosecution problematic in, for example, rapes facilitated by drug/alcohol.

What she and other advocates are pushing for next:

-The bill she spoke to Sen. Warren about, increased access to sexual-assault nurse examiners. This is a federal bill that will ensue they’re accessible all over the country. It costs $200 to train a nurse; the bill would fund $11 million worth of training.

-In our state, training for prosecutors and judges, so they aren’t “driving survivors away from the prosecutorial process.”

In Q&A, Griffin was asked what’s being done for students. She said an attempt failed last year to pass mandatory sex education that includes consent education, but they will try again next session.

She took a wide variety of other questions, including one about victims’ privacy; she said the tracking system was set up to protect that but “a lot of concerns remain” at many steps in the process.

WHAT’S NEXT: The federal bill remains stuck in committee. The list of co-sponsors who’ve already signed on includes four other senators who are running for president. Here’s how to contact senators; here’s the list of who’s on the committee that’s currently holding the bill.

5 Replies to "Advocate for sexual-assault survivors takes her case to presidential candidate, 34th District Democrats:"

  • N.A. August 26, 2019 (6:01 am)

    I am glad that something is being done regarding rape victims.  I was a victim in the mid 1960’s when all you did was hide the fact and suffer the trauma alone.  Fifty-three years later, I am still wary of strange men, of which there are not just a few in Seattle these days.  I used to feel comfortable taking walks by myself near my home.  Today that is not the case.  #MeToo.

  • noname August 26, 2019 (8:05 am)

    And it continued into the 70’s  as being something not taken seriously, this was myself the 14 yr. old and one other victim and I am sure there were more. My father took me to the hospital but the Court System only charged this guy with assault.  Dec. 1970]              STATE v. KELLY                   889 3 Wn. App. 888, 478 P.2d 246 Mrs. Bayers who lived in the apartment below were calling to inquire about the commotion, and when the stewardess failed to answer her phone, they ran upstairs to her apartment to investigate, and chased off the attacker. The stewardess and the Bayers identified the defendant at the trial. The defendant vehemently denies any connection with the incident, and his defense at trial was based on the uncertainty and inconsistency in the identification.                     The incident giving rise to the second charge of assault with intent to commit rape occurred on November 19, 1968. The 14-year-old complaining witness, a junior high school girl, testified that she was walking home when a man jumped out of the bushes, put his hand over her mouth and told her not to scream. She described how he forced her into the bushes and up into the woods, undressed her, undressed himself, and assaulted her. The prosecuting witness made a lineup identification of the defendant and also identified him in the courtroom.                                                   

  • Al August 26, 2019 (3:18 pm)

    I hopes this helps many. Al with awsda = American women’s self defense association 

  • 2010 assault and rape August 27, 2019 (8:06 am)

    I was taken and raped one night here in our safe city of Seattle.  At harbor view I waited for hours only to find out I was the 9th assault that evening.  There was only one nurse.  It’s sad…we need more nurses ….for this crime.  To me that means this is happening more often….which it should not be.  1960….1970….I am sure there are women from every decade that has gone through this horror.  There are very little resources out there for healing afterwards. Insurance did not cover my emergency room visit because I failed to call 24 hours after my rape and notify them I went to the er for a rape.  I have no family and no friends to help me afterwards….and calling to tell my insurance was not on my mind.  I assumed the er paperwork and a police report was good.  WA state crime victims compensation act did not help me because I…had a job…which I soon lost because I could not recover from this event.  I lost my career, I lost my home in West Seattle….I lost my life. Nine years after the event and I am homeless and struggling to survive all because I was assaulted and raped and never was able to receive counseling or help….because there is no one to counsel or help.  Sad.  #metoo

  • Leah Griffin August 27, 2019 (9:10 pm)

    Hi,I’m Leah Griffin, the subject of this article. I’m so grateful to the other survivors coming forward in the comments. I’m building a community of survivor advocates here in Washington. I would love to invite any survivor reading this who wants to get more involved in advocacy to reach out on Facebook (Leah Griffin) or Twitter (@leahegriffin). There is a lot of work to be done, and I would love for you to join me.

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