CA Senate Bill 258:

Justice for Disabled Spouses

Six disabled people of color smile and pose in front of a concrete wall. Five people stand in the back, with a Black woman in the center holding up a chalkboard sign reading "disabled and here." A South Asian person in a wheelchair sits in front.

Photo from Disabled And Here, taken by Chona Kasinger

What is
SB 258?

SB 258 closes a loophole in the California law that permits the rape of a spouse who is unable to consent due to a disability. The full text of the bill can be found on LegInfo.

The phrase "NOBODY SAYS 'I DO' FOR RAPE" appears in front of a shadowed frosted glass panel with an open hand in a "stop" position behind it.

The Issue

An estimated 1 in 10 married women have been raped by their spouse—often 20 or more times (National Resource Center of Domestic Violence). For disabled spouses, the prevalence is likely higher, given that disabled people are four times as likely to be sexually assaulted compared to their nondisabled counterparts (U.S. Department of Justice).

Shockingly, California law permits the rape of a spouse who is unable to consent due to a disability while the same act of rape when committed by a non-married partner is a crime.

Senator Dr. Aisha Wahab has introduced SB 258, which would end the last spousal rape exemption in California and make the protection of law equal for rape survivors regardless of a victim’s abilities and their relationship to the perpetrator.

Rape is rape.