Governor Greg Abbott on Nov 6th, announced the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force (SASTF) issued its third Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature. The report includes policy recommendations for the 89th Legislative Session and summarizes task force activities since the last report, including the launch of a Forensic Nursing Coaching Pilot Program with the Texas A&M Health Center of Excellence in Forensic Nursing, a quarterly SASTF Webinar Series, and new trauma-informed trainings for law enforcement and hospital emergency room staff.
 
“Dedicated professionals and volunteers across Texas continue their crucial work to address the atrocity of sexual assault and help their fellow Texans,” said Governor Abbott. “By actively engaging in crime prevention, prosecution, advocacy, and victim support, Texas is working tirelessly to protect the right of all Texans to live safely and securely. Last session, I signed a law to permanently establish the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force. Their critical work on behalf of Texas’ adult and child sexual assault survivors for the last four years has been a key component in our goal to raise awareness and combat this heinous crime. Working together, we will continue to seek justice for survivors, hold offenders accountable, and ensure that survivors have access to the resources they need to heal and recover.”
 
Established in 2019, the SASTF ensures a survivor-centered, trauma-informed, collaborative, and coordinated response to sexual violence experienced by adults and children across Texas. Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 1402 into law last year to permanently establish the SASTF.
 
The report includes 10 policy recommendations for the 89th Legislative Session:
 
Promote Survivor Safety, Rights, And Healing

- Extend the right to terminate a lease to include survivors who were not assaulted in their dwelling or on the premises of their dwelling.

- Include Legal Services Information in the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Information Sheets for Sexual Assault Survivors.

- Extend consideration of impact when granting motions for continuance to include all survivors of sexual assault, regardless of family violence involvement.

- Expand right to reimbursement for Emergency Medical Care to include follow-up care for a period of 30-days.

- Expand trauma-informed training requirements for emergency room medical professionals to include ER Physicians and ER Physicians Assistants, both employed and under contract.

 Strengthen Statewide Efforts

- Extend current two-year limit on Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) certifications to three years.

- Require County Commissioners Courts to submit Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Reports to the Governor’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force.

Focus On Offender Accountability

- Amend the sexual assault statute with respect to consent to provide clear protection for victims of sexual assault in circumstances not explicitly covered by current Texas law.

- Expand prohibited employment for a registered sex offender to include rideshare services.

Allow evidence of extraneous offenses to be admissible for sexual offenses in adult sexual assault cases to explain the state of mind of the defendant and the relationship between defendant and victim.

Read the full SASTF Report here.