CONGRESSWOMAN NANCY MACE UNVEILS RAPE SHIELD ENHANCEMENT ACT TO STOP VICTIM BLAMING AND PROTECT PRIVACY IN ASSAULT CASES

(Washington D.C., November 4th, 2024) -- Congresswoman Nancy Mace has introduced the Rape Shield Enhancement Act of 2024 to protect victims from unfair judgment or blame in assault cases. This bill instructs the Judicial Conference to review and suggest updates to federal rules, ensuring victims' personal details, when irrelevant to the case, remain protected in court.

"As a survivor, I know firsthand how important it is to protect our privacy and dignity,"said Congresswoman Mace. "We deserve the strongest safeguards against having our personal lives exposed and scrutinized in court. This bill could be a huge step forward in preventing unnecessary, hurtful disclosures about a victim's past, helping ensure survivors aren't re-victimized by the legal process itself."

The Rape Shield Enhancement Act of 2024 mandates the Judicial Conference submit a report to Congress within 180 days of the bill becoming law, providing recommendations for amendments focused on:

• Enhancing protections to further restrict the admissibility of evidence related to a victim's sexual history or disposition, preventing such evidence from being unnecessarily disclosed or used against victims in sexual assault cases.
• Narrowing the scope of permissible discovery requests to limit inquiries into an alleged victim's private records or history-such as financial, social, psychological, medical, and sexual history-unless they are directly relevant to the case.
• Strengthening limitations on requests for personal information of an alleged victim in criminal proceedings, only directly relevant information is accessible and restricting further disclosure beyond the defense team and relevant experts. These measures will help prevent the unnecessary spread of a victim's private information.

###

For media inquiries please contact [email protected]