In 2010, I sat alone in the NYPD’s Special Victims Division, panicked and disassociated, while detectives pressured and intimidated me as I tried to report my sexual assault. When I asked to call a friend to be with me, I was threatened with having my case thrown out. I didn’t know I had the right to a support person. I didn’t know I could insist on emotional safety. I didn’t know that what was happening to me was wrong.

No survivor in crisis should be expected to advocate perfectly for themselves. 

Vermont already has a Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights but many survivor protections still depend on discretion, informal practice, or luck. When rights are not clearly written and legally safeguarded, survivors remain vulnerable at the exact moment they need protection most.

That is why Vermont lawmakers have introduced H.703, a bill that updates and strengthens Vermont’s existing Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights by closing gaps survivors still fall through.

H.703 would:

• Ensure survivors have the right to a support person present at all times
• Require written notification of survivor rights before interviews begin
• Strengthen survivors’ access to counsel during interactions with law enforcement and prosecutors
• Guarantee the right to request an interviewer of a particular gender
• Reinforce protections for forensic evidence, so rape kits cannot be used to prosecute survivors for unrelated offenses

Some of these practices do occur. But when protections are not explicitly written into law, they can be denied, ignored, or even revoked. Survivors should not have to ask permission for dignity, safety, or basic respect.

I know this personally. What happened to me is not rare. When I later spoke with Department of Justice investigators during their civil rights investigation into the NYPD’s Special Victims Division, they told me they had heard stories like mine again and again.

In the years since my assault, I have advocated for survivors by writing about systemic failures long before #MeToo, pushing for legislative change, and urging the DOJ to investigate gender bias in special victims units — which they ultimately did. Drawing directly from my experience, I drafted a comprehensive update to Vermont’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights and personally brought that proposal to two Vermont lawmakers: Gina Galfetti (R) and Conor Casey (D). That survivor-led draft became the foundation for H.703.

This bill will not fix everything. But it directly addresses preventable harm in the earliest hours after trauma, when survivors are least able to protect themselves and most likely to be silenced or mishandled.

Please join me in urging Vermont lawmakers to pass H.703 and strengthen the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights. 

Sign this petition urging the Vermont Legislature to pass H.703 and strengthen the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights.