In the wake of the #MeToo and #Timesup revolutionary movements, there are many things coming to light that lawmakers are struggling to deal with. With the crisis in the public eyes of Weinstein and the tragedy that is Larry Nassar and his enablers, non-disclosure agreements are taking center stage and are firmly in the bullseye of the groups that helped propel these movements into the forefront of public awareness.

Non-disclosure Agreements were used in both cases to use the money to coerce victims to stay silent, giving another upper hand to the people who were trying to cover-up sexual assaults. Often, the perpetrators are much more well off than those they victimize, and they use this as a means to cover up their actions by giving financial compensation their victims may need to deal with their issues. They make these payments on the condition that all parties will sign a written agreement that it will be kept quiet and the victim will not pursue legal action. 

Arizona is likely going to be the next state to join those that have made certain NDAs used in cases like this are not able to be legally upheld. House Bill 2020, sponsored by Paradise Valley Representative Maria Syms (R), recently unanimously passed all committees and the House and only awaits Ducey’s decision to sign it into law or veto it. When Syms initially wrote the bill, she had it encompassing a much larger section of sexual harassment victims by covering not only criminal suits but also civil suits where those who signed NDAs could break it without any fear of financial retaliation. The proposal was scaled back to protect only those victims in criminal courts in the protection for now, as some victims are looking for the protection and financial assistance provided by these NDA agreements. 

Syms is quick to point out that this law has teeth, and is meant to do something, not just be a decoration on the law books. There is another bill, House Bill 2053, that is going through the process right now. This would make it a felony to coerce someone to perform any sexual act and making it sexual extortion and a class 3 felony. Arizona is definitely becoming one of the states on the forefront of protecting sexual assault victims and will be on the forefront of the revolution of prosecuting sexual assault perpetrators to the full extent of their new laws.