DENVER — A brand new Colorado law signed this week will bring big changes to how sexual assault court cases are handled. The law is an expansion of the Rape Shield law that stops certain pieces of victim information from being used as evidence in court.
"It's about time," said Ana Martinez, Co-Director of Client Services at Blue Bench. "I think it brings fairness, and in that fairness, I think it brings hope that can be can get justice that people can seek care for what happened to them."
On Wednesday Lt. Governor Dianne Primavera, the current acting Governor, signed HB 1072 into law. It will prohibit a defendant from using aspects like how a sexual assault victim dressed or their sexual history as proof of consent. Before the new legislation, aspects like that were allowed to be admitted.
Supporters like Martinez hope it will encourage more survivors to come forward by preventing them from being interrogated with irrelevant or degrading information.
"I do think that's a concern a lot of survivors bring in when they're considering whether or not to report a case, they're like, 'well I don't want to be dragged I don't want to be misunderstood,'" she explained. "I think it will empower some people and we hope people feel more empowered to seek justice."
Martinez said more needs to be done to reduce the stigma of sexual assaults, but changes like this help her believe they will achieve that goal in time.
"We’re finally letting the laws match what we know the definition of consent to be and to be more fair and honest," Martinez added. "It’s kind of surprising it wasn’t this way to begin with but I’m glad that it is, I’m glad we’re catching up."
The changes take effect July 1.
The Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) was instrumental in getting this law passed. Elizabeth Newman, the organization's public policy director, provided the following statement to 9NEWS:
"CCASA celebrates the passage of HB24-1072. When judges and lawyers use victim-blaming tactics, rape myths, and bias this impedes the truth-seeking process the court aims to achieve. This new law will reduce the re-traumatization and humiliation many survivors experience and improve fairness and justice when going through the criminal-legal system."
> Watch 9NEWS original shows, live Colorado news and weather updates, daily forecasts, and sports coverage for free on the 9NEWS+ app on Roku and Fire TV.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Politics
9NEWS+ has multiple live daily shows including 9NEWS Mornings, Next with Kyle Clark and 9NEWS+ Daily, an original streaming program. 9NEWS+ is where you can watch live breaking news, weather updates, and press conferences. You can also replay recent newscasts and find videos on demand of our top stories, local politics, investigations and Colorado specific features.
To download 9NEWS+ on Roku search for KUSA.
To download 9NEWS+ on Fire TV search for 9NEWS.