Rape Kits Are More Accessible at California Universities Thanks to These Students

• A sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE), also referred to as a rape kit, can preserve possible DNA evidence and provide important medical care for victims of sexual assault.
• Assembly Bill 1138 requires the University of California and California State University campuses to provide students with free and confidential transportation to a medical center to receive SAFE care.
• College students organized the movement that advanced the legislation because California institutions weren't required to provide that care to victims of sexual assault.

In the fall of 2022, Kate Rodgers was sitting on her University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) dorm room floor, drafting a proposal to help sexual assault survivors on her campus, inspired by a poster she saw at her school.

The poster advertised a petition to get rape kits on UCLA's campus. The university, like many in the state, does not have the necessary resources on campus to conduct sexual assault forensic exams (SAFE), also known as rape kits. Instead, the school partners with facilities that offer free and confidential care to students after they are assaulted.

SAFE kits are used to collect DNA and other evidence from a crime, such as a sexual assault. Timing is critical in a SAFE kit, as DNA evidence needs to be collected within 72 hours after a crime has taken place to be analyzed by a crime lab, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).

The closest facility providing SAFE care for UCLA students is the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center, a 15-minute drive from campus.

Other California college students have to travel much farther to find SAFE care because not every medical center or hospital in the state has trained professionals to perform the examinations. And college campuses in the state were not required to provide transportation to medical facilities for students who had been assaulted.

Rodgers, now a junior political science major at UCLA, decided to look into the issue of SAFE kits on campus and see how she, along with GENup, the student-led advocacy group she worked with, could help.

After more than a year of advocacy work and collaboration with state lawmakers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom last October signed into law a bill codifying the solution she and her GENup peers developed.

Assembly Bill 1138 required all 23 California State University (CSU) campuses and 11 University of California (UC) campuses to provide students with transportation to a SAFE-capable medical center.

The transportation must be free, safe, and confidential for students using it. While law enforcement is an option, the law requires campuses to establish an additional transportation option besides a law enforcement vehicle.

While the initial hope was to bring SAFE kits to every campus in California, Rodgers realized that it was not feasible for every campus to have a trained, certified forensic examiner after meeting with coalition partners, including the California Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners Association (CalSAFE).

The idea pivoted from bringing SAFE kits to each campus to providing free, safe, and confidential transportation to ensure survivors get the medical care they need without diverting resources from communities that are already stretched thin.

"The problem would be if you have a very limited supply of forensic examiners in the state, and putting one or two on every single CSU and UC campus, and then you're not opening that service to the community," Rodgers told BestColleges. "Those nurses would probably be able to make more of an impact if they were working at an off-campus community center."

Full-Time College Students, Part-Time Policymakers

After they had a proposal, Rodgers and other GENup team members across multiple UC campuses drafted bill language and pitched the idea to state legislators, hopeful one of them would submit it officially to the legislature.

The idea caught the attention of Assemblymember Dr. Akilah Weber, an OB-GYN who represents parts of San Diego County.

Weber said her background in reproductive health was a driving factor behind sponsoring Assembly Bill 1138.

"I have had experience interacting with people right after a sexual assault and having to worry about how you're going to get to a place to get the [SAFE] exam … that is not something that you should have to worry about," she told BestColleges.

"When [GENup] presented this idea to my staff, I said, 'This is definitely something that needs to happen.' I was very honored that they came and asked me to carry it."

Weber said the students in GENup carried the bill through its inception to the governor's desk, organizing for students to testify at hearings and holding a legislative advocacy day with student speakers at the California State Capitol.

One of the groups GENup partnered with was IGNITE National, a nonprofit organization that trains and empowers young women and nonbinary people to run for office.

"The students were the ones who were driving this bill. Their passion, their dedication, and their lived experience were driving this bill to its passage," Jocelyn Yow, legislative advocacy director for IGNITE, told BestColleges. "It was so inspiring to see them using their voice to speak up about this absolutely important issue and making sure that all survivors have access to justice."

While the bill was being discussed and passed through committees, Rodgers was still a full-time student at UCLA, balancing a full course load along with trying to pass a law.

How did she do it?

"I have missed many, many days of school," Rodgers said. "The thing about GENup that is special is … we do not have any incentive to be there, other than that we want to be a part of the legislative process, and we want to make a difference for students. There are definitely some moments where a staffer would be like, 'Can we have this meeting,' and you're like, 'Sorry, I have class' or 'Oh, I have homework.'"

More Work Needed to Help, Protect Sexual Assault Survivors

While Weber says she wishes the legislation extended to private institutions and community colleges, she doesn't believe the bill would have been passed if they were included in state requirements due to budget constraints.

"When we looked at the totality of the cost associated with it, and the fact that it would have been a much harder feat to get it through all of the committees … there was a strategic decision to just narrow it just to CSU and UC and then to go back, potentially at a later date, to capture all of the other students," she said.

The law does not go into effect until the 2025-2026 school year, although schools can implement policies and practices earlier.

"My hope would be that no student would have to deal with sexual assault … unfortunately, I know that is not reality," Weber said. "I am hoping this is one less thing that they have to worry about [and] that they understand that their college and their state has their back as far as helping them get through this horrific event."

Rodgers wants other students to know that they can change the law, no matter their age or experience levels.

"All you really need in California is a good idea and a little bit of guidance. And a lot of people up in Sacramento have been more than willing to provide the guidance part of that for us," she said.