Murray, Jayapal, & Advocate Leah Griffin Celebrate SASCA Provisions Being Signed Into Law

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) joined Leah Griffin, a Washington state constituent and survivor advocate, to highlight how key provisions of the Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act (SASCA) signed into law today as part of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) will help survivors across the country get the sexual assault forensic examinations they need—and pursue justice.

Senator Murray first introduced SASCA in 2016 after Griffin shared her personal story of surviving a sexual assault and then getting turned away from a hospital when it was unable to administer a rape kit—which contributed to prosecutors’ decision to not file criminal charges.

During the event, Senator Murray, Congresswoman Jayapal, and Griffin recounted the more than seven years of hard work that culminated in the passage of SASCA’s core provisions—which will help develop national standards of care for survivors of sexual assault, strengthen the sexual assault examiner workforce, and expand access to sexual assault forensic examination services.