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SALT LAKE CITY — Though the 2022 Utah Legislature is nearing its conclusion, sexual assault prevention advocates believe there's still time to pass meaningful legislation to help the state's survivors.
On Tuesday, the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault held an advocacy day on the Hill in the hopes of educating legislators and members of the public on what they can do help end sexual violence in Utah.
Rape is the only type of violent crime in Utah that is higher than the national average, based on the 2019 FBI uniform crime statistics, the coalition said. For other crimes like homicide and robbery, Utah has lower rates than the national average.
Those numbers are much higher in marginalized communities, according to Sonya Martinez-Ortiz, the executive director for Salt Lake City's Rape Recovery Center. She said over 56% of Native Americans have been victims of sexual violence, and over 20% of Black women have been victims of rape.
Liliana Olvera-Arbon, executive director of the coalition, told KSL.com that 1 in 3 women in Utah will experience some sort of sexual violence in their lifetime, as compared to the nationwide average of 1 in 4 women experiencing some sort of sexual violence.
"Those numbers are gaining, they're getting bigger, they're growing," Olvera-Arbon said Tuesday. "And so we have to do something."
Danica Baird, an attorney and board member at the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault, outlined numerous bills during the event that it hopes will be passed before the session officially ends on Friday.
She pointed to pieces of legislation like HB126, which would require the Division of Juvenile Justice Services to create rules and procedures for reporting, preventing and responding to sexual assaults in its facilities and would bring the state's juvenile system in compliance with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.
As of Tuesday, the bill — introduced by Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City — was placed on the Senate's second reading calendar after passing out of the Senate Business and Labor Committee. It was unanimously passed in the House on Jan. 28.
Another bill the coalition hopes will be enacted into law is HB352, which would require online dating services to provide and direct people to resources if online users are assaulted, Baird said. The bill would also require online dating services that do not conduct background checks on users to notify their users that others on the online service have not been vetted.
The bill, also introduced by Romero, had passed the House on Friday and had passed the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee.
The coalition also backed HB228, which eliminates the requirement that sexual assault survivors must cooperate with law enforcement to be eligible to receive benefits from the Utah Office for Victims of Crime. The bill — presented by Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan — passed both the Senate and the House and was sent for enrolling Tuesday.
Olvera-Arbon said HB228 is a huge step forward, as some survivors of sexual assault may not be comfortable coming forward. But the bill would allow for therapeutic support and crisis support, which she said is essential for the healing process to begin. She also hoped for a yearly appropriation amount of $3 million from the legislature.
"We've gotten really positive interaction about these bills, we're hoping most of them will pass," Olvera-Arbon said.
Friday will mark the 45th and final day of the 2022 Utah legislative session.
