1 min read

Victim advocate turned lawmaker champions Marsy’s Law in the Pennsylvania House

"Making Marsy’s Law” sat down with the House bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Sheryl Delozier,  talk more about Marsy’s Law’s position in the Legislature and the next steps in the process to add victims’ rights to Pennsylvania’s constitution.

 

Long before Delozier represented Pennsylvania’s 88th district in the state House of Representatives, she worked as a volunteer rape crisis counselor for the Harrisburg YWCA for 10 years.

 

“When I first came to Harrisburg in ’91, I didn’t have the money to donate to this organization.” Delozier said. “I couldn’t write the check, but I could give them my time. And so that’s what I did.”

 

At the time, the YWCA was in need of volunteers to be on-call rape crisis counselors and on call to answer its hotline. While some nights she didn’t have many calls, other times she had quite a few that required her to go to the hospital and be there for the victims.

 

“We were there to explain to them the laws, to explain to them what they needed to do that night in order to collect a rape kit and what was going to happen to them,” she said. “But a lot of it was to be able to give that victim a say — which sounds so small, but all power was taken from them that evening.”

 

Today, she believes Marsy’s Law came her way because of that history, because of her passion and because she feels an obligation to use her position to create change for the better.

 

“The ability to get involved with Marsy’s Law was very important to me because it is something that will be permanent,” she said.

 

The Marsy’s Law legislation is under review by the House Judiciary Committee. Delozier said she believes the prospects for a vote by the committee, and then the full House before lawmakers adjourn for summer recess, are good.

 

Hear more about Representative Sheryl Delozier’s passion for victims’ rights by listening to Episode 5 of Making Marsy’s Law.