California Penal Code

§ 13823.95

PEN § 13823.95 Effective Jul 16, 2021Title 6 · Part 4 · Ch. 3

Statute text

(a)Costs incurred by a qualified health care professional, hospital, clinic, sexual assault forensic examination team, or other emergency medical facility for a medical evidentiary examination of a victim of a sexual assault, as described in the protocol developed pursuant to Section 13823.5, when the examination is performed pursuant to Sections 13823.5 and 13823.7, shall not be charged directly or indirectly to the victim of the assault.

(b)(1) A victim of a sexual assault who seeks a medical evidentiary examination, as that term is used in Section 13823.93, shall be provided with a standardized medical evidentiary examination, using the medical evidentiary examination report forms and protocols for victims of sexual assault developed pursuant to Section 13823.5. A victim of a sexual assault shall not be required to participate or to agree to participate in the criminal justice system, either prior to the examination or at any other time. Pursuant to the requirements of the federal Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, and the federal Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 through the federal Office of Violence Against Women, standardized medical evidentiary examinations consistent with Sections 13823.5 and 13823.7 shall be provided to sexual assault victims who are undecided at the time of an examination whether to report to law enforcement within the recommended timeframes for collection of evidence. Mandated reporting laws, pursuant to Section 11160, shall apply.

(2)Data from the medical evidentiary examination in paragraph (1), with the patient’s identity removed, may be collected for health and forensic purposes in accordance with state and federal privacy laws.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 80, Sec. 25. (AB 145) Effective July 16, 2021.