BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 701
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
701 (Cristina Garcia and Eggman)
As Amended August 2, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 7, 2016) |SENATE: | 37-0 |(August 11, |
| | | | | |2016) |
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(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: G.O.
SUMMARY: Provides that the Legislature finds and declares that
all forms of nonconsensual sexual assault may be considered rape
for purposes of the gravity of the offense and the support of
survivors.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill
and instead:
1)Provide that the Legislature finds and declares that all forms
of nonconsensual sexual assault may be considered rape for
purposes of the gravity of the offense and the support of
survivors.
2)Specify that the findings and the declarations contained in
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this bill are declarative of existing law.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides generally that "sexual assault" is a category of
felonies, as specified and described in several discrete
sections of the Penal Code. These sections distinctly define
separate crimes depending on the circumstances of the
prohibited sexual acts, based on the proscribed conduct. The
following offenses are included under the category of "sexual
assault" felonies:
a) Rape,
b) Spousal rape,
c) Unlawful sexual intercourse, sexual penetration, oral
copulation, or sodomy where consent is procured by false of
fraud with intent to induce fear,
d) Sodomy,
e) Forced oral copulation,
f) Sexual penetration.
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2)Penalizes rape, spousal rape, sodomy, forced oral copulation,
or sexual penetration with the same felony punishment as
distinctly defined "sexual assault" crimes.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Under California law
rape is defined as 'an act of sexual intercourse' or penile
penetration. Other types of sexual assault-including
forcible acts of sexual penetration by a foreign object and
sodomy-are defined and categorized as different crimes.
Under this definition, since the perpetrator did not
penetrate the victim with his penis, no 'rape' occurred in
the eyes of the law.
"Under California law there is a bias against lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) victims because of
our narrow definition of rape. This is especially unjust
given the staggering statistics which show that LGBTQ
individuals are more likely to be victims of sexual
violence than heterosexuals.
"According to the Human Rights Campaign, 46% of bisexual
women have been raped, compared to 17% of heterosexual
women and 13% of lesbians and 40% of gay men and 47% of
bisexual men have experienced sexual violence other than
rape, compared to 21% of heterosexual men.
"California's restrictive definition of rape means a man
cannot be raped only sodomized and it means that despite
being sexually penetrated with a foreign object, the victim
in Palo Alto was not raped only sexually assaulted.
"AB 701 modernizes the definition of rape to ensure the
consequences for such acts are properly assigned to their
perpetrator. When we fail to call rape 'rape,' we rob
survivors and their families of the justice they deserve.
Rape is rape-the law should reflect that."
This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the
Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted.
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This bill, as amended in the Senate is inconsistent with
Assembly actions and the provisions of this bill, as
amended in the Senate, have not been hear in an Assembly
policy committee.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003751