INDIANAPOLIS — A group of women gathered on the steps of the Indiana State Capitol building on Saturday to show their support for House Bill 1079, which aims to define consent when it comes to allegations of rape.
Right now, there is no such definition on the books in Indiana and many believe that makes it difficult for rape victims to find justice, something that's already very difficult, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).
RAINN reports that out of every 1,000 sexual assaults, only 310 are reported to the police and only 50 of those lead to an arrest. Of those 50 arrests, just 28 result in a felony conviction and only 25 of those perpetrators will be incarcerated.
"We need a law that says, 'No means no,'" said Carmel resident Stephanie Stewart. "If you do not get verbal or physical confirmation, you cannot assume consent, and that is why this law is so, so, so important."
Stewart was joined by other supporters of HB 1079 on Saturday as they stood in bitterly cold temperatures holding signs that read, "We demand rape law reform" and "Give rape victims justice, define consent," among other messages.
Right now in Indiana, sex without consent isn’t a crime, unless there’s proof of physical force, the threat of such force or the victim is incapacitated.
Across the country, 13 states and the District of Columbia have legal definitions of consent. Only nine of those states and Washington, D.C. require freely-given consent or affirmative consent.
Critics of the bill say adding new language to the current law brings the danger of not knowing where courts will land if there are challenges to the new language.
The measure has already passed the Indiana House and heads to the Senate for consideration.