Senate Approves Weinberg Bill Package To Protect Rights of Sexual Assault, Harassment Survivors
The Senate today unanimously approved eight bills sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg to protect the rights of survivors of sexual assault, improve law enforcement and judicial case management and training, and codify harassment and discrimination policies throughout state government.
Senator Weinberg noted that the legislation arose out of recommendations that came out of public and private listening sessions held by the informal Workgroup on Harassment, Sexual Assault and Misogyny in New Jersey Politics. She formed the group after a December 2019 Star-Ledger article showed that the #MeToo movement, legislative hearings on the handling of the Katie Brennan sexual assault case, and earlier legislative reforms had failed to address the rampant misogyny and violence that plagued state politics. The Workgroup will issue its formal report in January.
Senator Weinberg thanked Brennan, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner and Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, for their work on the legislation.