A legislative amendment supported by state Rep. Therese Berceau, D-Madison, would extend sexual-assault laws to cases of rape involving alcohol and negate penalties to under-21 victims and witnesses of assault.
Berceau said that under current Wisconsin law, the attitude toward victims is 'If you're too drunk to give consent, that's your problem.'
She added that while the law regarding second-degree sexual assault acknowledges that 'intoxicants' play a role in a person's ability to give consent to sex, alcohol is only considered a contributing factor to intoxication under the current definition.
'With alcohol excluded, you have to prove you were unconscious,' Berceau said.
She added that this can be very difficult to prove, as victims may be conscious at the time of the attack but too intoxicated to be aware of actions around them.
'Attitudes must be challenged and changed,' Berceau said, adding that the significance of alcohol in state culture is probably one reason why alcohol is not included in the list of intoxicants.
Erin Thornley, executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said it is inappropriate that victims of rape cannot legally explain their lack of consent by the influence of alcohol.
'Why is rape excusable when a woman is under the influence of alcohol'? she asked. 'She must refrain from drinking to remain safe.'
Berceau said she is adding another amendment to the sexual-assault law that would overrule underage-drinking penalties for victims and witnesses, citing the sexual-assault allegations against former Green Bay Packer Mark Chmura. In that case, Chmura was accused of assaulting a drunk underage woman at a party. Potential witnesses might have been afraid to come forward with information, she said, because they were afraid of legal action against their own activity.
Angela Bartucci, founder of Prevent Assault: Victim Empowerment, said her organization recognizes one sexual-assault survivor a month.
'Since February, [PAVE] has honored only one assault survivor where alcohol wasn't a factor,' Bartucci said in support of Berceau's proposed amendments.
Berceau said she hopes the bill is successful but remains cautiously upbeat.
'This is a small bill that we hope is going to have a big impact,' she said. 'I am optimistic that there is going to be a fair amount of support.'
Austin King, the legislative issues coordinator for Men Opposing Sexual Assault said he hopes the bill will get support from Berceau's fellow state Assembly members.
'This bill should not fall on deaf ears of those without a college campus in their district,' King said.
