California just became the most recent state to strike down the statute of limitations in rape cases, getting rid of the 10-year time limit victims previously had to file charges against perpetrators. In California, the Bill Cosby sexual assault case was cited as a catalyst. Here's the BBC:
California Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation ending the US state's 10-year statute of limitations on rape.
The move was prompted by decades-old allegations made by multiple women against actor Bill Cosby.
The change means that from January 2017 there will be no time limit on the prosecution of rape cases.
But it will not work retroactively, or help those who accuse Cosby of crimes committed more than 10 years ago.
Voting to end the statute of limitations on rape is something the Oregon legislature did back in March, along with passing a measure mandating that Oregon's backlog of rape kits be processed. Concrete changes like these suggest an ongoing shift in thinking around how the law handles rape and sexual assault cases, in which it's common for victims to delay reporting to law enforcement (if they do at all) .
The obvious conflict between the statute of limitations and the frequency of delayed reporting is something that the Cosby case, in which one victim pressed charges a decade after her assault, made starkly clear. (Reasons victims don't immediately report are also outlined, in very personal terms, in this week's feature.)
States have differing policies when it comes to the statute of limitations and rape. But striking down the time limit on reporting is one practical way of making it easier for victims to come forward.