PRINTER'S NO. 3421
No. 2569 Session of 1978
INTRODUCED BY McCLATCHY, LINCOLN, REED, O'CONNELL, ZORD, NOYE,
MEBUS, DAVIES, LEHR, W. D. HUTCHINSON, BROWN, HALVERSON,
FREIND, HELFRICK, J. L. WRIGHT JR., PYLES, KATZ, DiCARLO,
CESSAR, VROON, E. Z. TAYLOR, POTT, GALLEN, COHEN, KNEPPER
AND CIMINI, JUNE 13, 1978
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 13, 1978
AN ACT
1 Providing for services with regard to victims of criminal sexual
2 conduct; establishing a criminal sexual conduct prevention
3 training and education program; establishing a grant program;
4 imposing certain powers and duties on the Commission for
5 Women; and making an appropriation.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Short title.
9 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Criminal
10 Sexual Conduct Prevention Act."
11 Section 2. Findings and purposes.
12 (a) The General Assembly finds that:
13 (1) Criminal sexual conduct is one of the most
14 underreported and rapidly increasing crimes in the
15 Commonwealth.
16 (2) Victims of criminal sexual conduct are physically
17 and psychologically abused in the course of being attacked.
18 (3) Society has traditionally censured the victim of
1 criminal sexual conduct, thereby prolonging the psychological
2 stresses upon said victim after the attack.
3 (4) Victims of criminal sexual conduct should be treated
4 with sensitivity and understanding by medical, police and
5 legal personnel and society as a whole.
6 (5) There is a need to coordinate services and programs
7 available to victims and to study the effectiveness of
8 existing laws dealing with criminal sexual conduct.
9 (6) There are a number of centers throughout the
10 Commonwealth providing counseling and supportive services to
11 victims of criminal sexual conduct, which are experiencing
12 financial difficulties.
13 (b) Pursuant to these findings, the General Assembly states
14 that the purposes of this act are to:
15 (1) Establish, for a period not to exceed two years, a
16 criminal sexual conduct prevention training and education
17 program in order to gather and maintain expertise in dealing
18 with the problems of victims of criminal sexual conduct and
19 the prevention of the crime.
20 (2) Educate and sensitize the public generally and
21 particularly those persons who have direct contact with
22 victims.
23 (3) Coordinate efforts of persons having direct contact
24 with victims hospital personnel, municipal and State police.
25 (4) Encourage police forces to utilize female personnel
26 in the handling of the crime since the majority of victims
27 are female.
28 (5) Make grants to organizations, including those known
29 as rape crisis centers, which offer counseling and supportive
30 services to victims of criminal sexual conduct.
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1 Section 3. Definitions.
2 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
3 have, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
4 meanings given to them in this section:
5 "Commission." The Commission for Women.
6 "Program." A method for providing training and education to
7 deal with the prevention of criminal sexual conduct and the
8 problems of the crime's victims, and to educate and sensitize
9 persons who have direct contact with such victims.
10 "Rape crisis center." An agency which provides direct
11 service to the victims of criminal sexual conduct and the family
12 and friends of the victim, including counseling, advocacy, and
13 supportive services and which disseminates educational material
14 and information to professionals and the public.
15 Section 4. Creation of program.
16 The General Assembly hereby authorizes the funding of a
17 program for a period of up to two years within the various
18 counties of the Commonwealth. The educational program shall be
19 developed by the commission and shall include those prevention,
20 education and training methods deemed appropriate by the
21 commission, including but not limited to those enumerated in
22 section 5.
23 Section 5. Program.
24 (a) The program shall include methods of disseminating
25 information such as public seminars, speaker's bureaus and media
26 presentations. Presentations shall include, but not be limited
27 to, as many of the following as are applicable to the audience
28 involved: problems encountered by criminal sexual conduct
29 victims; prevention and defense against criminal sexual conduct;
30 recommended methods for use by professionals in handling
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1 criminal sexual conduct cases; guidelines for obtaining complete
2 and prompt medical care; disproving the repeated myths about
3 rape and its victims; and publicizing existing rape crisis
4 centers.
5 (b) The program shall be directed to: medical professionals;
6 lawyers; municipal and State police; the new media; high school,
7 junior high school and middle school students, teachers,
8 counselors, administrators; women's organizations; civic and
9 religious organizations and any other interested persons or
10 groups. The program shall be presented in urban, suburban and
11 rural areas.
12 (c) The program shall be presented in each of the 67
13 counties during the two years duration of the program.
14 (d) The program may be coordinated with and jointly
15 presented by the commission and any area rape crisis center
16 having a similar education program.
17 Section 6. Grants to rape crisis centers.
18 (a) The commission shall, upon application on forms provided
19 by the commission, make grants to rape crisis centers throughout
20 the Commonwealth for any of the following reasons:
21 (1) the development and establishment of training
22 programs for professional, paraprofessional, and volunteer
23 personnel who are or will be engaged in areas relating to the
24 problems of criminal sexual conduct;
25 (2) the development of programs of community education;
26 (3) necessary transportation costs including
27 accompaniment to medical, social and legal services;
28 (4) self-help programs;
29 (5) the operation of telephone systems to provide
30 assistance to the victim;
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1 (6) emergency shelter programs.
2 (b) Each entity participating in a program under this
3 section shall:
4 (1) establish a recordkeeping system to insure the
5 protection of the privacy of the victim, as well as other
6 individuals involved;
7 (2) establish internal procedures to measure progress
8 and achieving the goals stated by the grantee in its
9 application; and
10 (3) establish a continuing education program for all
11 staff members, both volunteered and paid.
12 (c) The commission, in awarding grants under this section,
13 shall give priority to those applications which:
14 (1) are designed to deal directly with specific and
15 serious problems relating primarily to criminal sexual
16 conduct; and
17 (2) are likely to be successful in carrying out the
18 purposes of the section.
19 (d) The commission shall review the effectiveness of the
20 grant program.
21 (e) The commission in carrying out the provisions of this
22 section shall seek to coordinate its activities with other
23 activities relating to criminal sexual conduct carried out by
24 other agencies of State Government.
25 (f) Not more than 50% of the costs of any project shall be
26 funded by a grant under this section.
27 Section 7. Powers and duties of the commission.
28 The commission have the power and its duty shall be:
29 (1) To develop and implement the educational program,
30 including publicity for the provisions of the act pursuant to
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1 section 5. Total prevention, training and education expenses
2 shall not exceed $100,000 annually.
3 (2) To make grants to rape crisis centers. Total grants
4 to rape crisis centers shall not exceed $500,000 annually.
5 (3) To employ such staff as it deems necessary to carry
6 out the provisions of this act. The salaries and
7 administrative expenses shall not exceed $50,000 annually.
8 (4) To transmit to the General Assembly an annual report
9 of its program, budget and any recommendations pursuant to
10 this act. The program established by this act shall not be
11 funded for a succeeding year until such report is
12 transmitted.
13 Section 8. Appropriation.
14 The sum of $650,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary,
15 is appropriated to the commission for the fiscal year 1978-1979
16 to carry out the purpose of this act.
17 Section 9. Effective date.
18 This act shall take effect July 1, 1978.
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