Texas legislators passed new laws for sex assault survivors. But they failed to define consent.

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Texas legislators passed new laws for sex assault survivors. But they failed to define consent.
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Lawmakers have failed to fully define consent in state law, which a state task force said would protect victims in more types of predatory situations.

Survivor Anne Elrod Whitney’s hair is blown about as she speaks during a press conference held on the steps of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas, on March 22, 2023. The Texas Survivor Coalition, a group of survivors and advocates, assembled to protest HB 4601 that would have changed the statute of limitations in child sex abuse cases in Texas from 30 years to 15 years for institutional defendants.

The legislation, House Bill 2696, passed out of the House 111-34 but never got a hearing in the Senate. It would have updated consent laws to clarify that a person commits sexual assault if they know “or reasonably should know” that the other person is unaware that the assault is happening, has withdrawn consent or is intoxicated and unable to give consent.

Overall, updated language would make it easier for prosecutors to pursue sexual assault cases, which are significantly underreported and underprosecuted, according to the Institute for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Other recommendations include giving all victims a legal right to obtain a forensic exam after an assault and offering them reimbursement for associated medical costs.Outside of the task force recommendations, legislators also did not consider a bill to eliminate the civil statute of limitations for child sex abuse claims, which would have allowed survivors of all ages to sue their abusers and the institutions that protected them.

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