Make your voice heard before Tuesday, March 28
AB 419 is an important bill in the California legislature that would require judges to receive survivor-centered training on sexual assault. The goal is to ensure that rape survivors are not retraumatized by the judicial system.
We need your help to keep this bill alive!
AB 419 is set to be heard by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 28th at 9 a.m. PT. Here’s what you can do to help:
- Click HERE to send an email to Judiciary Committee Chair Assembly member Brian Maienschein and HERE to send an email to Vice Chair Assembly member Bill Essayli.
- Call the Judiciary Committee at (916) 319-2334 and tell them why you support AB 419.
- Ask three of your friends to do so as well!
Here is some basic support language you can use, but please personalize your message if you can so it has the biggest impact possible:
I support AB 419 because it is vital for judges to have victim-informed training. Recently, we have seen judges display a shocking lack of empathy for survivors and allowing attorneys to retraumatize survivors on the stand. A recent study finds that 10% of defense attorney questions involve rape myths.
California judge Aaron Persky was recalled for giving rapist Brock Turner a light sentence because he expressed great concern about how it would impact the rapist’s future. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, from a judge publicly shaming a rape survivor because she “didn’t put up a fight,” to a judge asking a rape survivor “why couldn’t you just keep your knees together” and a judge telling a teen victim that she looked older than her years and “was probably as much in control of the situation” as the rapist.
These examples, and numerous others, show the pressing need to require training for judges presiding over rape cases. It is hard enough for rape survivors to come forward. They should not be retraumatized by our justice system. Thank you.
Thank you for your support.