Crime victims & witnesses

AN ACT Relating to supporting crime victims and witnesses by 1
promoting victim-centered, trauma-informed responses; amending RCW 2
70.125.030, 70.125.110, and 43.10.801; adding new sections to chapter 3
7.69 RCW; and creating a new section. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that over 500,000 6
women in the United States are at risk of or have undergone female 7
genital mutilation, including 25,000 women and girls in Washington 8
state. The legislature further finds that the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 9
metro is among the five highest rates of impacted and at-risk 10
communities in the United States, making addressing female genital 11
mutilation and other sexual violence critical.12
It is the intent of the legislature to expand the rights of 13
survivors of sexual assault to survivors of all acts of sexual 14
violence, including female genital mutilation. The legislature 15
further intends to extend the life cycle of the SAFE advisory group 16
and expand its duties to include researching and making 17
recommendations on trauma-informed, culturally sensitive policies to 18
prevent and address female genital mutilation and other acts of 19
sexual violence. 20
S-3449.2
SENATE BILL 6017
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Orwall, Dhingra, Nobles, and C. Wilson
Prefiled 01/07/26. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Law & Justice.
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 7.69 RCW 1
to read as follows: 2
(1) In any case involving sexual assault or domestic violence in 3
which the defendant is proceeding pro se, at the request of the 4
prosecutor or plaintiff, the court may appoint a representative of 5
the pro se defendant solely for the purpose of conducting the direct 6
questioning of the victim or survivor during trial preparation and at 7
trial. 8
(2) The court-appointed representative may ask only those 9
questions submitted by the pro se defendant. The court will permit 10
reasonable recesses to allow the pro se defendant to submit written 11
follow-up questions to the court-appointed representative, ensuring 12
the defendant retains full rights to examination of the witness.13
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 7.69 RCW 14
to read as follows: 15
Any minor age 13 years or older may consent to a forensic 16
examination conducted for the purposes of gathering evidence for 17
possible prosecution for domestic violence assault involving nonfatal 18
strangulation. 19
Sec. 4. RCW 70.125.030 and 2012 c 29 s 10 are each amended to 20
read as follows: 21
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 22
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 23
(1) "Community sexual assault program" means a community-based 24
social service agency that is qualified to provide and provides core 25
services to victims of sexual assault. 26
(2) "Core services" means those services that are victim-centered 27
community-based advocacy responses to alleviate the impact of sexual 28
assault, as delineated in the Washington state sexual assault 29
services plan of 1995 and its subsequent revisions.30
(3) "Department" means the department of commerce.31
(4) "Female genital mutilation" has the same meaning as in RCW 32
9A.36.175.33
(5) "Law enforcement agencies" means police and sheriff's 34
departments and tribal law enforcement departments or agencies of 35
this state. 36
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(((5))) (6) "Personal representative" means a friend, relative, 1
attorney, or employee or volunteer from a community sexual assault 2
program or specialized treatment service provider. 3
(((6))) (7) "Services for underserved populations" means 4
culturally relevant victim-centered community-based advocacy 5
responses to alleviate the impact of sexual assault, as delineated in 6
the Washington state sexual assault services plan of 1995 and its 7
subsequent revisions. 8
(((7))) (8) "Sexual assault" means one or more of the following:9
(a) Rape or rape of a child; 10
(b) Assault with intent to commit rape or rape of a child;11
(c) Incest or indecent liberties; 12
(d) Child molestation; 13
(e) Sexual misconduct with a minor; 14
(f) Custodial sexual misconduct; 15
(g) Crimes with a sexual motivation; 16
(h) Sexual exploitation or commercial sex abuse of a minor;17
(i) Promoting prostitution; or 18
(j) An attempt to commit any of the aforementioned offenses.19
(((8))) (9) "Specialized services" means those services intended 20
to alleviate the impact of sexual assault, as delineated in the 21
Washington state sexual assault services plan of 1995 and its 22
subsequent revisions. 23
(((9))) (10) "Victim" means any person who suffers physical, 24
emotional, financial, and psychological impact as a proximate result 25
of a sexual assault. 26
Sec. 5. RCW 70.125.110 and 2025 c 124 s 3 are each amended to 27
read as follows: 28
(1) In addition to all other rights provided in law, a sexual 29
((assault)) violence survivor has the right to: 30
(a) Receive a medical forensic examination at no cost;31
(b) Receive written notice of the right under (a) of this 32
subsection and that he or she may be eligible for other benefits 33
under the crime victim compensation program, through a form developed 34
by the office of crime victims advocacy, from the medical facility 35
providing the survivor medical treatment relating to the sexual 36
assault; 37
(c) Receive a referral to an accredited community sexual assault 38
program or, in the case of a survivor who is a minor, receive a 39
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connection to services in accordance with the county child sexual 1
abuse investigation protocol under RCW 26.44.180, which may include a 2
referral to a children's advocacy center, when presenting at a 3
medical facility for medical treatment relating to the assault and 4
also when reporting the assault to a law enforcement officer;5
(d) Consult with a sexual ((assault)) violence survivor's 6
advocate throughout the investigatory process and prosecution of the 7
survivor's case, including during: Any medical evidentiary 8
examination at a medical facility; any interview by law enforcement 9
officers, prosecuting attorneys, or defense attorneys; and court 10
proceedings, except while providing testimony in a criminal trial, in 11
which case the advocate may be present in the courtroom. Medical 12
facilities, law enforcement officers, prosecuting attorneys, defense 13
attorneys, courts and other applicable criminal justice agencies, 14
including correctional facilities, are responsible for providing 15
advocates access to facilities where necessary to fulfill the 16
requirements under this subsection. The right in this subsection 17
applies regardless of whether a survivor has waived the right in a 18
previous examination or interview; 19
(e) Be informed in writing of policies governing the collection 20
and preservation of a sexual assault kit; 21
(f) Be informed, upon the request of a survivor, of when the 22
forensic analysis of his or her sexual assault kit and other related 23
physical evidence will be or was completed, the results of the 24
forensic analysis, and whether the analysis yielded a DNA profile and 25
match, provided that the disclosure is made at an appropriate time so 26
as to not impede or compromise an ongoing investigation;27
(g) Upon written request of a survivor, be granted further 28
preservation of his or her sexual assault kit or its probative 29
contents, without charge; 30
(h) Upon written request of a survivor, receive written 31
notification from the appropriate official with custody of his or her 32
sexual assault kit not later than 60 days before the date of the 33
intended destruction or disposal of his or her sexual assault kit;34
(i) Receive a copy of the police report related to the 35
investigation without charge; 36
(j) Review his or her statement before law enforcement refers a 37
case to the prosecuting attorney; 38
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(k) Receive timely notifications from the law enforcement agency 1
and prosecuting attorney as to the status of the investigation and 2
any related prosecution of the survivor's case; 3
(l) Be informed by the law enforcement agency and prosecuting 4
attorney as to the expected and appropriate time frames for receiving 5
responses to the survivor's inquiries regarding the status of the 6
investigation and any related prosecution of the survivor's case; and 7
further, receive responses to the survivor's inquiries in a manner 8
consistent with those time frames; 9
(m) Access interpreter services where necessary to facilitate 10
communication throughout the investigatory process and prosecution of 11
the survivor's case; and 12
(n) Where the sexual ((assault)) violence survivor is a minor, 13
have: 14
(i) The prosecutor consider and discuss the survivor's requests 15
for remote video testimony under RCW 9A.44.150 when appropriate; and16
(ii) The court consider requests from the prosecutor for 17
safeguarding the survivor's feelings of security and safety in the 18
courtroom in order to facilitate the survivor's testimony and 19
participation in the criminal justice process. 20
(2) A sexual ((assault)) violence survivor retains all the rights 21
of this section regardless of whether the survivor agrees to 22
participate in the criminal justice system and regardless of whether 23
the survivor agrees to receive a forensic examination to collect 24
evidence. 25
(3) If a survivor is denied any right enumerated in subsection 26
(1) of this section, he or she may seek an order directing compliance 27
by the relevant party or parties by filing a petition in the superior 28
court in the county in which the sexual assault occurred and 29
providing notice of such petition to the relevant party or parties. 30
Compliance with the right is the sole remedy available to the 31
survivor. The court shall expedite consideration of a petition filed 32
under this subsection. 33
(4) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to provide 34
grounds for error in favor of a criminal defendant in a criminal 35
proceeding. Except in the circumstances as provided in subsection (3) 36
of this section, this section does not grant a new cause of action or 37
remedy against the state, its political subdivisions, law enforcement 38
agencies, or prosecuting attorneys. The failure of a person to make a 39
reasonable effort to protect or adhere to the rights enumerated in 40
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this section may not result in civil liability against that person. 1
This section does not limit other civil remedies or defenses of the 2
sexual ((assault)) violence survivor or the offender.3
(5) For the purposes of this section: 4
(a) "Law enforcement officer" means a general authority 5
Washington peace officer, as defined in RCW 10.93.020, or any person 6
employed by a private police agency at a public school as described 7
in RCW 28A.150.010 or an institution of higher education, as defined 8
in RCW 28B.10.016. 9
(b) "Sexual ((assault)) violence survivor" means any person who 10
is a victim, as defined in RCW 7.69.020, of sexual assault or female 11
genital mutilation. However, if a victim is incapacitated, deceased, 12
or a minor, sexual ((assault)) violence survivor also includes any 13
lawful representative of the victim, including a parent, guardian, 14
spouse, or other designated representative, unless the person is an 15
alleged perpetrator or suspect. 16
(c) "Sexual ((assault)) violence survivor's advocate" means any 17
person who is defined in RCW 5.60.060 as a sexual assault advocate, 18
or a crime victim advocate. 19
Sec. 6. RCW 43.10.801 and 2023 c 197 s 1 are each amended to 20
read as follows: 21
(1)(a) The ((sexual assault forensic examination best practices )) 22
SAFE advisory group is established within the office of the attorney 23
general for the purpose of ((reviewing best practice models for 24
managing all aspects of sexual assault investigations and for 25
reducing the number of untested sexual assault kits in Washington 26
state)) recommending actionable, trauma-informed, victim-centered 27
policies related to preventing and addressing sexual violence.28
(i) The caucus leaders from the senate shall appoint one member 29
from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate.30
(ii) The caucus leaders from the house of representatives shall 31
appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house 32
of representatives. 33
(iii) The attorney general, in consultation with the legislative 34
members of the advisory group, shall appoint: 35
(A) One member representing each of the following:36
(I) The Washington state patrol; 37
(II) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;38
(III) The Washington association of prosecuting attorneys;39
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(IV) The Washington defender association or the Washington 1
association of criminal defense lawyers; 2
(V) The Washington association of cities; 3
(VI) The Washington association of county officials or the 4
Washington state association of counties; 5
(VII) The ((Washington coalition of sexual assault programs )) 6
designated statewide sexual assault coalition; 7
(VIII) The office of crime victims advocacy; 8
(IX) The Washington state hospital association;9
(X) The office of the attorney general; and 10
(XI) The criminal justice training commission;11
(B) ((Two)) Three members representing survivors of sexual 12
((assault)) violence; 13
(C) One member who is a sexual assault ((nurse)) forensic 14
examiner; 15
(D) Two members who are law enforcement officers, one from a 16
rural area and one from an urban area of the state;17
(E) One member who is a prosecuting attorney serving in a county 18
in a rural area of the state; and 19
(F) Two members who are community-based advocates, one from a 20
rural area and one from an urban area of the state.21
(b) When appointing members under (a)(iii)(D) of this subsection, 22
the office of the attorney general shall solicit recommendations from 23
statewide labor organizations representing law enforcement officers.24
(2) The duties of the advisory group include, but are not limited 25
to: 26
(a) Researching ((the)) and advancing best practice models both 27
in state and from other states for collaborative responses to victims 28
of sexual ((assault from the point the sexual assault kit is 29
collected to the conclusion of the )) violence related to accessing 30
medical forensic examinations and community-based support services, 31
enhancing investigation and prosecution of a case, and providing 32
recommendations regarding any existing gaps in Washington and 33
resources that may be necessary to address those gaps;34
(b) Researching and making recommendations on opportunities to 35
increase access to, and availability of, critical sexual assault 36
((nurse)) forensic examiner services and enhancing statewide 37
coordination of forensic services; 38
(c) Monitoring the testing ((of the backlog of sexual assault 39
kits and the supply chain and distribution )), supply chain, and 40
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distribution of sexual assault and nonfatal strangulation evidence 1
collection kits; 2
(d) Monitoring implementation of state and federal legislative 3
changes; 4
(e) Collaborating with the legislature, state agencies, medical 5
facilities, and local governments to implement reforms ((pursuant to 6
federal grant requirements)); and 7
(f) Making recommendations for institutional reforms necessary to 8
prevent sexual ((assault)) violence and improve the experiences of 9
((sexual assault )) survivors in the criminal justice system , with 10
special focus on, but not limited to, Black, indigenous, and other 11
populations disproportionately impacted by sexual violence.12
(3) The office of the attorney general shall administer and 13
provide staff support to the advisory group. 14
(4) Legislative members of the advisory group must be reimbursed 15
for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative 16
members, except those representing an employer or organization, are 17
entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 18
43.03.050 and 43.03.060. 19
(5) The advisory group must meet no less than twice annually.20
(6) The advisory group shall report its findings and 21
recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature and 22
the governor by December 15th of each year. 23
(7) This section expires July 1, ((2026)) 2028.24
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