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Advocates urge Connecticut to codify PREA and curb NDAs used to silence survivors
Summary
Advocates on The Paid Leave Podcast described two Senate bills (SB89 and SB5477) to codify PREA protections in Connecticut prisons and another bill (SB355) to limit nondisclosure agreements that silence workplace survivors, arguing state action is needed as federal guidance shifts.
On The Paid Leave Podcast, Beth Hamilton, Executive Director of the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, said Connecticut should codify the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) into state law to ensure investigations, services and public reporting in carceral settings.
"SB89, which would codify PREA into Connecticut state law," Hamilton said, noting a parallel proposal in SB5477. She told the host that federal PREA guidance has been weakened in recent administrative changes and that state codification would make investigations and survivor services enforceable in Connecticut institutions.
Hamilton also described Senate Bill 355, aimed at limiting nondisclosure agreements that keep survivors from speaking out. "We continue to see large corporations ... using NDAs to cover up things like sexual assault," she said, adding that repeated NDA use by the same employer can hide patterns of misconduct.
Sharon Walker Epps emphasized the practical impact: NDAs can leave subsequent employees unaware they are entering a risky environment. She also flagged growing online harms to children and noted federal proposals such as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), sponsored by Senator Blumenthal, as one approach to pressuring tech platforms to take a greater duty of care.
Hamilton expressed guarded optimism about the legislative prospects: she anticipated some PREA language could move through the Senate but cautioned it may not capture all provisions advocates seek. The podcast did not record a formal legislative outcome or vote.
The episode framed the bills as responses to both institutional gaps in care for incarcerated survivors and employer practices that silence victims, while urging policymakers to prioritize these measures amid other correctional-system challenges.
