Policy & Justice
Immunity Laws for Survivors: Remove Barriers To Reporting
RAINN urges state lawmakers to improve reporting rates by providing survivors with immunity from prosecution for drug or alcohol use or simple possession.
When survivors of sexual assault fear legal repercussions for alcohol or drug use, this may prevent them from reporting violent crimes. Perpetrators are then emboldened to target individuals under the influence, knowing they’re less likely to seek help. When survivors don’t report, violent crimes go uninvestigated.
Lawmakers can encourage survivors to report sexual offenses by providing them immunity from prosecution for alcohol and drug use/simple possession.
Fear Silences Survivors; Immunity Laws Empower Them
Self-blame and fear of being punished for use/simple possession of alcohol or drugs can deter victims from reporting.
Rape and crimes of sexual violence are chronically underreported, with only 46% of victims reporting to law enforcement. Only 10% of child sex abuse victims who report (approximately only one in five) do so to legal authorities. Additionally, as high as 84% of sexual assaults involved the use of drugs or alcohol by the victim.
The focus of any sexual violence investigation must be on the perpetrator’s disregard for consent, not the victim’s substance use. Immunity for drug and alcohol use/possession prioritizes victim reporting and perpetrator accountability. Victims are never at fault for assault, regardless of substance involvement.
Children are especially vulnerable to perpetrators who use drugs and alcohol to groom and control their minor victims. Abusers provide substances to lower the child’s inhibitions and then threaten exposure if the child discloses the abuse. Scared of getting in trouble and intimidated, these children remain silent.
Current state laws discourage reporting, allowing rapists and child abusers to escape justice and re-offend. Survivors’ fear of repercussions for alcohol and drug use/simple possession incentivizes perpetrators to harm individuals who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, since they are less likely to go to the authorities.
It is time for the law to reflect that sexual assault survivors are not to blame for what happened to them and encourage survivors to report assault. Lawmakers must improve the reporting of sexual violence, ensuring access to justice for survivors and safety for the public.
Immunity Is a Successful Legislative Policy
Many states and colleges already successfully use drug or alcohol immunity to increase crime reporting—without increasing substance use. Immunity policies make victims and witnesses feel safer coming forward and seeking medical attention. (4)
College Campus Models
Colleges changed their policies to provide immunity to victims of sexual violence to combat the high rates of sexual violence on campuses. These policies prohibit schools from disciplining someone for drugs or alcohol when they experience a sexual assault. Given the age of college students, underage drinking is common. These students fear school discipline and criminal charges and are therefore less likely to report, access justice, and receive medical care after a sexual assault.
In 2020, 13% of college students experienced nonconsensual sexual contact; for women, it was 25.95% (one in four). (5) Alcohol is highly associated with campus sexual violence (6) and “nearly three-quarters (72%) of victims experienced rape while intoxicated.” (7)
Despite these staggering numbers, campus sexual violence is severely underreported. Less than 5% of completed or attempted rapes against women on college campuses are reported to law enforcement, though up to two-thirds tell another person. (8) Of those who didn’t report, 30.9% cited fear of hostile treatment from police or the justice system, partly due to the risk of punishment for alcohol/drug use. (9)
While student victims carry the impact of an assault for a lifetime, perpetrators walk free, allowing them to continue victimizing others. Studies show 4%-16% of college men admit to rape, and two-thirds of those are repeat offenders.
Campus immunity policies contribute to improved reporting: the reporting rate of these serious violent crimes is higher at schools with immunity policies. (11) As a result, more survivors have sought medical attention, contributed to investigations, and received needed support.
Immunity policies are crucial to promoting public health and safety on college campuses.
By empowering students to seek medical support and justice without fear, these policies unequivocally affirm that survivors are never to blame for their sexual assault.
Good Samaritan Model
Forty-eight states have “Good Samaritan” laws granting immunity to those who seek help for drug overdoses. Police involvement is the primary reason people hesitate to call for medical assistance during an overdose, leading to calls in less than 50% of cases. “Good Samaritan” policies have been shown to reduce overdose rates by 15% with no increase in drug use. (12)
Before the implementation of “Good Samaritan” drug laws, people were left with an impossible reality: access to medical care for an overdose could also result in their arrest. The immunity offered by “Good Samaritan” drug laws prioritizes public health and ensures access to life-saving treatment.
Similarly, survivors of sexual violence must feel safe to prioritize reporting a sexual assault and participating in a sexual assault forensic exam (or “rape kit”) when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Adding those seeking to report a sexual offense to existing immunity statutes helps improve the reporting of violent crimes, supports victims in accessing urgent medical care, and prioritizes public safety.
Protect Survivors Who Come Forward
Protections for survivors shouldn’t be limited to college campuses. Laws must encourage, not impede, reporting sexual violence. Granting immunity for drug and alcohol use/simple possession to sexual assault survivors and witnesses encourages them to come forward. This also helps law enforcement apprehend violent offenders and stop serial perpetrators.
By implementing victim immunity, lawmakers have a crucial opportunity to support victims and hold sexual offenders accountable.
For Legislators: Example Legislation
RAINN’s policy memos and issue briefs help lawmakers draft bills that promote justice for survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
Work With Us
We recognize that each state’s code is unique and complicated. RAINN’s policy team can work hand in hand with lawmakers and their staff to tailor these recommendations to each state’s specific needs.
Contact RAINN’s Policy Team
RAINN works with lawmakers across the country to advance bipartisan legislation that prevents sexual violence, improves justice, and holds perpetrators accountable.
NOTES & CITATIONS
(1) https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/cv23.pdf Opens in a new tab
(2) Delayed Disclosure Child USA 2024 Factsheet, A Comprehensive Report on Delayed Disclosure in Cases of Child Sexual Abuse, Insights, Implications, and Pathways Forward, https://childusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Delayed-Disclosure-2024.pdf Opens in a new tab
(3) Basile KC, Smith SG, Liu Y, Lowe A, Gilmore AK, Khatiwada S, Kresnow MJ. Victim and perpetrator characteristics in alcohol/drug-involved sexual violence victimization in the U.S. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2021 Sep 1;226:108839. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108839. Epub 2021 Jun 24. PMID: 34216864; PMCID: PMC8355168. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8355168/#R4
(4) Ibid.
(5) Cantor, D., et al. (2020, January 17). Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct, Association of American Universities, https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU-Files/Key-Issues/Campus-Safety/Revised%20Aggregate%20report%20%20and%20appendice.
(6) Ellyson, A., Ortega, A., & Bedard-Gilligan, M. (2023, January). Institution of Higher Education Substance Use Amnesty Policies and Sexual Violence Reporting, Journal of Interpersonal Violence 2023 38:1-2, 212-236, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/08862605221080156.
(7) Mohler-Kuo, M., Dowdall, G. W., Koss, M. P., & Wechsler, H. (2004). Correlates of rape while intoxicated in a national sample of college women. Journal of studies on alcohol, 65(1), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsa.2004.65.37 Opens in a new tab.
(8) Fisher, B., Cullen, F., & Turner, M. (2000). The sexual victimization of college women (NCJ 182369). Retrieved from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/182369.pdf Opens in a new tab
(9) Ibid.
(10) Hopper, Jim (accessed 9/5/2024) Repeat Rape by College Men. https://jimhopper.com/topics/sexual-assault-and-the-brain/repeat-rape-by-college-men
(11) Ibid.
(12) National Bureau of Economic Research, “A Little Help from my Friends: The Effects of Naloxone Access and Good Samaritan Laws on Opioid-Related Deaths,” NBER Working Paper Series, February 2017.
(13) Most victims of sexual assault, 58-94%, seek help informally from friends and family members, and “[f]or adolescents especially, their first disclosure of sexual assault victimization is typically made to a friend or family member, not a formal service provider.” https://ww1.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/offices/police/docs/2019-6_TB_Improving-Responses-to-SA-Disclosures.pdf; “About two-thirds of sexual assault survivors disclose to informal sources such as friends, family, or significant others in search of support.” Kirkner A, Lorenz K, Ullman SE, Mandala R. A Qualitative Study of Sexual Assault Disclosure Impact and Help-Seeking on Support Providers. Violence Vict. 2018 Aug;33(4):721-738. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.VV-D-17-00059. PMID: 30567770; PMCID: PMC6309334. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6309334/ Opens in a new tab)
(14) Individuals “provide gifts or bribes to persuade, desensitize or coerce minor victims as part of the grooming process” and this includes supplying drugs or alcohol to victims. Kirk-Provencher KT, Jeglic EL, Calkins C, Spillane NS. The use of substances in sexual offending in a United States sample. Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2021 Apr 27;29(1):53-67. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2021.1904445. PMID: 35693381; PMCID: PMC9186352. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9186352/ Opens in a new tab
(15) Ian A. Elliott. A Self-Regulation Model of Sexual Grooming. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 2015. DOI: 10.1177/1524838015591573.
(16) This is not unique in the sexual violence space. Under federal law, states who receive STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant funding cannot condition payments for sexual assault exams on the victim’s cooperation with law enforcement. https://www.justice.gov/ovw/page/file/1008816/dl Opens in a new tab
Last updated: July 26, 2026