Standing with Survivors of Sexual Assault
In 2024, I was sexually assaulted by a rideshare driver within view of my own home. It changed my life forever. In the aftermath, I experienced firsthand how difficult it can be for survivors to navigate the very systems that are supposed to protect us. I saw how survivors are left waiting for answers, how powerful corporations fight accountability, and how a justice system that is supposed to serve survivors too often fails us.
What happened to me is not unique, and that's what I find so unacceptable. Too many survivors are met with disbelief. Too many wait months or years for evidence to be processed. And far too few ever see their cases prosecuted. These failures have become so common that we've almost come to accept them as inevitable. I refuse to accept that this is the best we can do.
I've worked alongside survivors, advocates, and fellow legislators to address Colorado's sexual assault evidence backlog and pass stronger safety requirements for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft. I'll continue fighting for meaningful accountability, stronger protections, and a justice system that treats survivors with the dignity and respect we deserve.
As your representative, you can count on me to:
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Put Survivors First: I'll fight for laws and policies that center survivors' safety, dignity, choices, and access to justice.
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Challenge Rape Myths and Victim-Blaming: I'll work to educate our communities, challenge harmful misconceptions about sexual violence, and confront the biases that shape how survivors are treated. What someone wore, whether they knew their attacker, or how they responded to an assault should never determine whether they're believed or taken seriously.
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Hold Rideshare Companies Accountable: Companies like Uber and Lyft have a responsibility to protect the people who trust them to get home safely. I'll continue fighting corporations that deny responsibility when passengers are sexually assaulted, resist meaningful safety requirements, and try to avoid accountability for the harm caused by their failures.
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Believe Survivors and Demand Justice: Too often, women who report sexual assault are doubted, dismissed, or blamed, and far too few cases ever make it to prosecution. I'll fight to change the systems and practices that deny survivors a meaningful path to justice.
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End Delays in Justice: I'll fight to eliminate sexual assault evidence backlogs and ensure evidence is processed promptly and with integrity.
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Keep Survivors Informed: Survivors deserve timely information about their cases, including decisions not to move forward with an investigation or prosecution.
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Demand Institutional Accountability: When law enforcement, prosecutors, corporations, or other institutions fail survivors, they must be held accountable. I'll fight for transparency, meaningful oversight, and consequences when systems designed to protect people instead fail them.
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Protect Survivors' Rights: I'll work to remove barriers to reporting, accessing services, and seeking justice without creating additional trauma.
My Sponsored Legislation
HB26-1424 | Rideshare Safety and Consumer Protections
Strengthens safety requirements for companies like Uber and Lyft, including background checks, driver accountability, complaint investigations, and additional protections for passengers and drivers.
SB26-095 | Supporting Survivors of Sexual Assault and Other Crimes
Expands protections for survivors, including access to forensic examination information, protections against certain retaliatory lawsuits, and additional options for providing testimony in court.
HB25-1185 | Child Conceived from Sex Assault Court Proceedings
Streamlines and strengthens court procedures to protect children conceived through sexual assault and the rights of the survivor parent.
SB25-304 | Measures to Address Sexual Assault Kit Backlog
Helps eliminate Colorado’s backlog of sexual assault evidence kits by improving processes, oversight and timelines for testing.
SB24-011 | Online-Facilitated Misconduct & Remote Tracking
Modernizes criminal statutes to address misconduct via dating apps and the misuse of remote-tracking technologies.
HB23-1077 | Informed Consent To Intimate Patient Examinations
Ensures patients’ bodily autonomy by requiring healthcare professionals receive explicit informed consent before performing intimate medical examinations - including under anesthesia.