Sexual Abuse Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Program Addresses Military Sexual Trauma Among Women Veterans

The Department of Veterans Assistance launched a new program that aims to support women veterans, especially those who have experienced military sexual trauma.

People of all backgrounds experience sexual violence, but sexual harassment and assault against women veterans is especially pervasive.

According to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs, one in three women veterans report experiencing sexual violence during their military service.

To provide resources that better address military sexual trauma, the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance has launched a new Women Veterans Program.

The program will be led by Jessica Lynch, a West Virginia resident who was taken as a prisoner of war in Iraq in 2003.

Lynch joined Gov. Jim Justice’s virtual press briefing Wednesday to share news of the program’s launch, and her hopes for what it can accomplish.

“It’s going to be a very exciting job that I’m willing to take on, and I hope that we are able to reach more women veterans across the state,” she said.

Edward Diaz, cabinet secretary for the Department of Veterans Assistance, said addressing gaps in resources for survivors of military sexual abuse was a top priority entering his current position.

Women veterans are “just so much more likely to have experienced sexual harassment, sexual assault and, of course, unfortunately, rape,” he said. “It needs to be addressed not only on a national level, but also within our home state here.”

Diaz said that social stigma surrounding sexual violence often discourages survivors from coming forward and seeking the resources they need.

“A lot of the women who have gone through this — and even men who have gone through this — they aren’t as comfortable talking to male veterans,” he said. “They’re reluctant to come into our offices. They’re reluctant to come in for assistance.”

Plans for program outreach remain under development. But the Department of Veterans Assistance plans on hosting community events, and directly contacting local veteran communities around the state.

The goal is to spread awareness about the resources available to survivors, and help them to access support.

“There are initiatives across every state and territory in the U.S. trying to address this problem — trying to make sure that women are heard,” Diaz said. “From a state level, I wanted to bring this forward.”

Diaz said that Lynch has remained an important and passionate supporter of women veterans in West Virginia since her military service.

When looking for someone to lead the program, this made Lynch an obvious choice.

“Over the past several weeks getting to know her on a personal level, I’m in awe. I’m truly amazed of her character … being able to empower women veterans across the state,” he said.

Justice applauded the Department of Veterans Assistance for their new program, and Lynch for her work leading the project.

“You’re stepping up for West Virginia again, and you’re stepping up for our women’s veterans and everything that need help, need help, need ambassadors,” he told Lynch.

Health care providers have also made recent steps toward advancing resources available to women veterans. Earlier this month, the Berkeley VA Medical Center opened a new clinical space to specifically address the needs of women veterans.

Justice said it is important to continue advancing resources for women veterans.

“Let’s try to do any and everything we can to salute and help our women veterans,” he said.

Spousal Sex Abuse Fully Criminalized, Marking ‘New Day’ For Survivors

Gov. Jim Justice signed a law on Friday eliminating marital exemptions for sex abuse. Advocates say the new law will help survivors pursue legal recourse for their experiences with spousal abuse.

In West Virginia courtrooms, marriage no longer qualifies as a legal defense for sexual abuse.

Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 190 into law Friday, removing all remaining marital exemptions for crimes of sexual violence.

Previously, state law blocked spousal prosecution over acts classified not as sexual assault, but as “sexual abuse” — namely non-consensual sexual touching.

Exemptions like these were even steeper decades prior. Spousal rape was not a criminal offense in the state until 1976.

That’s when former Sen. Judith Herndon, R-Ohio, then the only female state senator, called for changes to the state’s sex abuse laws that were later adopted by the West Virginia Legislature.

With spousal sex abuse now fully criminalized, state officials and community advocates alike have expressed hope that more support for survivors lies ahead.

Becoming Law

Marital exemptions for sex abuse have long been a concern of advocates for the survivors of domestic violence.

“This was definitely not new to this session. I’ve been working in advocacy full time for the last eight years, and I know that it’s been in conversation for as long as that,” said Sara Belvins O’Toole, director of development with Branches Domestic Violence Center.

Based in Huntington, Branches provides housing support to victims of domestic violence across five West Virginia counties.

This year, however, discussion over the statute grew in February, as members of the West Virginia House of Delegates debated the so-called “Women’s Bill of Rights.”

That bill aimed to define sex-based terminology in state law, and create protections for “certain single sex environments.”

Opponents of the bill described it as discriminatory toward transgender residents. Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, introduced an amendment with several new provisions to exemplify “what [it] could look like if women had equal rights under the law.”

That included removing sales taxes on period products, establishing parental leave for state employees — and removing marital exemptions for sex abuse from state law.

Young’s other ideas were shot down. But one part of her amendment ultimately passed: removing the marital rape exemption.

The Women’s Bill of Rights, and therefore Young’s amendment, did not become law. But the possibility of removing marital exemptions grew as the session wore on.

A bill proposed earlier in the session by Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, passed through the West Virginia Senate later in February, then the House in March.

And, on Friday, Justice signed Weld’s bill into law.

Supporting Survivors

At a Feb. 23 Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Gabrielle Mucciola, prosecuting attorney for Monongalia County, attested to the bill’s importance for supporting survivors of domestic violence.

“These cases are wildly underreported,” Mucciola said. “And I would say that this exemption creates just another hurdle for victims of sexual abuse and sexual assault to come forward and feel comfortable that West Virginia adequately protects them.”

“You can imagine the heartbreak that a survivor might feel if they’re going through the legal process and, all of a sudden, because they were married to that person, what happened to them is not validated,” Belvins O’Toole said.

With the bill passed, advocates for survivors of domestic violence say they expect these barriers to reporting sexual violence will be reduced.

“Hopefully… people understand that this is an option for them now,” said Julie Britton, director of the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program in Charleston. Britton’s group offers housing and emergency interventions for survivors of domestic abuse.

Belvins O’Toole said the new law ensures that people are equally protected from sexual violence.

According to her, reducing barriers to prosecuting sexual violence is especially important because it expedites a process that can be difficult for survivors. “Most importantly, this is a win for survivors,” she said.

Britton agreed, expressing hope for a better future for survivors across the state.

“I just think that this is a new day for West Virginia,” Britton said. “It’s just another tool that we can use to make sure survivors get the justice that they absolutely deserve.”

Lawmakers Close Marital Sexual Assault Loophole

Spouses can now be charged with marital sexual abuse against their partners after a bill to close the loophole in the law passed both chambers Friday.

Senate Bill 190 eliminates marriage as a defense for first and third-degree sexual assault in West Virginia.

The bill requires that there was physical force that overcame earnest resistance.

Lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said he is following in the steps of his predecessor, the late Sen. Judith Herndon, who removed the marital exception from the state’s sexual assault code. She was the only woman in the Senate at the time.

In West Virginia, sexual assault is in most cases considered rape. Sexual abuse is unwanted groping or otherwise unwanted touching inappropriately.

Previously, the state’s sexual offense statute that defined “marriage” allowed exemptions for certain kinds of assault when people are married or “living together as husband and wife regardless of the legal status of their relationship.”

The bill passed the Senate on Feb. 26, and the House on Friday unanimously.

Senate Effort To Raise Indecent Exposure Penalties Causes House Confusion

Members of a House of Delegates committee expressed confusion over a bill modifying indecent exposure penalties in West Virginia, and had extensive debate over additional amendments to the bill.

A bill that would raise penalties for indecent exposure moved swiftly through the West Virginia Senate last month, passing the chamber just two days into this year’s legislative session.

But a West Virginia House of Delegates committee reviewed the bill this week with less certainty than their colleagues across the rotunda.

Senate Bill 160 would allow for stiffer penalties for individuals repeatedly convicted for “indecent exposure for purposes of sexual gratification,” permitting them to be both fined and imprisoned.

The bill prompted more than an hour of debate in the House Judiciary Committee Thursday morning.

Members of the committee widely supported reinforced protections against sexual misconduct.

But Del. Chris Pritt, R-Kanawha, sought to amend the bill to expand definitions of — and penalties for — indecent exposure when a minor was knowingly present.

Pritt said his amendment aimed to address “news across the country” of “sexually explicit” conduct in libraries and schools.

“We’re talking about shows in which individuals are dancing in a manner that is sexually suggestive in front of children at libraries, at schools,” he said. “We’ve all heard about it in the news.”

Pritt did not cite any specific examples of these performances.

Several committee members applauded Pritt’s impulse to reinforce protections for minors, but some expressed concern that his amendment would modify case law cemented in West Virginia courtrooms.

“If we’re applying a different standard than what has historically been applied, we would basically be getting rid of 100 years of case law by switching this,” said Del. Brandon Steele, R-Raleigh, who is an attorney.

The amendment would have changed the bill’s language to include references to “private parts,” defined later in the amendment to encompass body parts such as the “post-puberty female breasts with less than fully opaque covering of any part of the nipple.”

It also specified a wide range of “sexually explicit” acts that would fall into the purview of the new bill, like the “lascivious exhibit of simulated sexual intercourse.”

But opponents said these changes were too far-reaching, and gave too much authority to an individual’s definitions of nudity and sexual conduct.

They worried incidents of sexual dancing at a wedding or wardrobe malfunctions at a beach could fall into the definition of indecent exposure under the amendment.

“This is just getting worse and worse and worse. We are in a hole so deep we need a bigger shovel,” said Del. Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire. “I don’t like the amendment to the amendment, [and] I don’t like the amendment.”

Ultimately, Pritt’s proposal was defeated in a vote of 11 to 11, with 3 members of the committee absent or not voting.

Still, the initial bill itself raised further concerns from lawmakers.

The Senate bill would remove a clause explicitly stating that breastfeeding did not qualify as sexual misconduct under state law.

Committee members suggested that this was because senators felt it was an unnecessary addition to state law, because breastfeeding does not constitute an act of “sexual gratification.”

But lawmakers with legal experience, like Steele, said that removing the explicit breastfeeding exemption could be seen as an effort from lawmakers to authorize prosecution for public breastfeeding.

“I don’t want anybody looking back at this legislative intent and seeing that we removed that language,” he said. “When we cross out language like that, I can see a judge saying, ‘Well, the legislature must have intended to recriminalize this.’”

Steele proposed an additional amendment to reverse the removal of the breastfeeding clause, which passed unanimously.

After extensive debate, the committee ultimately voted in favor of the bill, sending it to the full House for further discussion.

Marital Exemption For Sexual Abuse Could Be Removed From State Code

Currently there is a exemption for sexual abuse in marriage. Monday the Senate passed a bill that would change that.

The bill requires that there was physical force that overcame earnest resistance.

Lead sponsor of the bill, Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, said he is following in the steps of his predecessor, the late Sen. Judith Herndon who removed the marital exception from the state’s sexual assault code. She was the only woman in the Senate at the time.

In West Virginia sexual assault is in most cases considered rape. Sexual abuse is unwanted groping or otherwise unwanted touching inappropriately.

“So this is carrying on what I believe to be an unfinished job that she wasn’t able to get done for she unfortunately passed away in 1980,” Weld said. “Sexual abuse currently in code has an exception, what is known as the marital exception. And so that if you are married to somebody, and you touch them in a private area as the result of forcible compulsion, you cannot be convicted of a crime.”

Sen. Michael Azinger, R-Wood, was one of nine no votes. He said he doesn’t have a problem with the entire bill, just parts of it.

“If you have just your general play between husband and wife,” Azinger said. “That goes on in every marriage in every house and something goes bad, then a divorce comes along with something like that. That could be used potentially against the husband in later times.”

Senate Moves To Remove Marriage Exemption To Sexual Assault

Marriage would no longer be a defense in cases of sexual assault if a Senate Bill becomes law.

Senate Bill 190 removes the defense of marriage from the definition of sexual contact and removes marriage as a defense to first and third-degree sexual assault.

Sen. Ryan Weld, R-Brooke, explained the purpose of the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“As it stands now, an individual could not be found guilty of sexual abuse in the first degree, if they were in fact, married to the victim, is that correct,” Weld asked of counsel. “And so that’s the distinction that we’re here making today, potentially within Senate Bill 190, so that would be what is called the marital exception. So we would be removing that.”

Senate staff counsel confirmed what Weld said.

The prosecuting attorney for Monongalia County, Gabrielle Mucciola, testified before the committee. She said that the marital exemption is a barrier to prosecution in crimes involving a marriage.

Opponents of the bill voiced concerns about false reporting and “he said, she said” arguments. Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, spoke in opposition to the bill.

“I wish that I could feel confidence in the checks and balances and judicial system that we have,” Rucker said. “But the reality is that in this day and age, there are many, many cases where individuals who are angry with each other, disappointed by each other, fighting and trying to take advantage of our system to try to hurt the other person because of whatever, angry, whatever has occurred. And they’re not always truthful.”

Weld spoke in favor of the bill, citing his trust in the justice system’s ability to try these crimes.

“The decision before us right now, is whether we want to signify to the married people around this state, man or woman and to the rest of the nation for that matter, that it is a crime to sexually abuse your spouse. That is the question for us,” Weld said. “Are we going to allow for spouses to be sexually abused in the state? Or are we going to put a stop to that and find that there is no difference? Whether or not you sexually abuse your spouse, or whether you sexually abuse a stranger off the street?”

Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, apologetically supported the bill.

“I’m sorry to, you know, some have encouraged me to vote against this bill,” Taylor said. “But I just I have to vote yes, because I respect my wife, and it just does not make sense to me that this is in our laws. And I understand that the argument about well, it could get abused. Well, all of our laws get abused by so many different things.”

The bill passed by a roll call vote of 13 to 4 and was read on first reading on the Senate floor Friday.