Rise
A rape survivor who authored the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights and founded a national civil rights organization for fellow survivors has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Paper Mag reports 27-year old Amanda Nguyen is being considered for one of the biggest honors in the world. Rep Mimi Walters (D-CA) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) nominated Nguyen for “unprecedented efforts in bringing equal protection under the law and basic human rights to all survivors of sexual assault, regardless of geography,” according to Rise, the group Nguyen founded.
“Up until [the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights] was passed, every six months, I had to try to save my rape kit from destruction,” Amanda previously told WomensHealthMag.com.
The Bill of Rights was signed into law by President Obama in 2016. Rape kits have been used to identify DNA from suspects and have been credited with leading to prosecutions. Despite their importance, many law enforcement agencies are years behind collecting data from these rape kits. Some had even destroyed them as soon as six months after the crime.
Now thanks to the Survivor’s Bill of Rights, victims must be notified 60 days before their rape kits are destroyed.
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