California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a package of public safety legislation intended to strengthen protections for sexual assault survivors and increase safety on college campuses amid renewed national attention to allegations of sexual violence in higher education.
The centerpiece is Senate Bill 1056, which establishes privacy protections for adult victims who are the subject of sexually explicit images or recordings introduced as evidence in criminal cases. The bill was inspired by the experience of Denise Huskins Quinn, who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in 2015. Evidence documenting the assaults was made available during criminal proceedings, and Huskins Quinn has advocated for stronger safeguards to ensure survivors do not experience additional trauma through unnecessary copying, dissemination, or retention of such evidence.
"At its core, SB 1056 is about dignity. It ensures that survivors are afforded meaningful privacy protections through clear and consistent standards, and ensures that they alone have the right to control their own story while seeking justice," said state Senator Tim Grayson, who authored the bill.
Assembly Bill 1845 requires postsecondary institutions to adopt policies and training addressing human trafficking and to improve procedures for identifying and reporting sexual crimes. The law will help campus employees recognize potential trafficking and exploitation and strengthen institutions' ability to respond when students may be at risk.
The package also strengthens enforcement against perpetrators who willfully violate criminal protective and stay-away orders, expands access to workplace protection through remote participation in restraining-order proceedings, and addresses custody and parentage issues when a child was conceived through sexual assault. Additional measures create new crimes targeting coordinated theft of utility and infrastructure metals and strengthen equipment and safety requirements for electric bicycles. Other bills allow courts to extend probation for registered sex offenders who have not completed required programming and authorize extended confinement for dangerous offenders in secure youth treatment facilities.
The legislation comes as California has recorded declines across major crime categories. According to the Governor's office, since Governor Newsom took office, homicide is down 20 percent, robbery is down 31 percent, property crime is down 24 percent, motor vehicle theft is down 19 percent, and violent crime is down 3 percent.