HJBR Jan/Feb 2025

DIALOGUE 10 JAN / FEB 2025 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE Editor Thank you, Sen. Barrow. Will you please explain Louisiana SB 371 in your own words? Senator Regina Barrow Senate Bill 371 is a bill to address sexual assault toward chil- dren the age of 13 and under. The bill came about as a result of many years of being in this arena and hearing many awful cases of children who have been assaulted. Of- tentimes, children don't have the voice to articulate what is happening to them, and one of the things that I have learned is those individuals who commit these crimes of- ten commit them over and over again until they are caught. Every time I see the stats, 1 out of 4 girls, according to the CDC, and 1 in 20 boys have been sexually assaulted. I believe those numbers are still inaccurate because of how many of them actually re- port. I think the numbers among males is higher because they are oftentimes afraid or embarrassed to actually share their en- counters. But my bill came as a result of my many years of serving in the legislature prior to being elected. I worked for a coun- selor where I saw a lot of horrific cases in children who were wards of the state. The bill will allow judges to determine whether or not an individual should be castrated. This applies to both males and females — I've gotten that question a lot. It would require that [the offender] who is found guilty go through an observation with the medical society, and if it is deemed that they can sustain the castration, then it can be ordered and done. The bill would also allow the individual to be able to serve a longer sentence in lieu of getting castrated. Editor Three to five years? Sen. Barrow Yes. Editor Can you define the sexual offenses that are covered by the bill? Sen. Barrow Rape, which includes forced sexual intercourse or any act performed against someone without their consent; child molestation; sexual acts with a child including any inappropriate sexual be- havior, which is really important because a lot of times that can be left to interpre- tation, but this makes it very clear; sexual battery; indecent behavior with a juvenile; and solicitation of a minor and other re- lated offenses. Pornography withminors is another one that we went back and forth on but that is very clear to me. We did get it there, but that was one of those that we went back and forth with in terms of how that is determined, what factors are used, what the information was.What I wanted ONE on ONE LA State Senator Regina Barrow