Survivors of sexual assault in Illinois will have stronger protections under a new law spearheaded by state Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel, D-Ottawa.

The new legislation, signed earlier this month, prohibits non-medical professionals from selling, marketing, promoting, advertising or distributing self-administered sexual assault evidence collection kits.

“This new law corks an alarming trend where any person on the street can advertise at-home sexual assault evidence collection kits as an alternative to a medical forensic exam,” Briel wrote in a news release. “This type of marketing and promotion is egregiously deceptive to survivors of sexual assault, who may turn to these kits instead of seeking real medical aid.”

House Bill 2548 creates the Self-Administered Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Ban Act.

It prohibits anyone other than a medical professional from distributing or promoting the kits in order to curb misinformation while trying to prevent survivors from relying on unreliable evidence collection.

“When we bar non-professionals from promoting these kits, we encourage survivors to seek professional medical help while ultimately getting more offenders off the streets and brought to justice,” Briel wrote. “This new law makes it less likely for offenders to reoffend and allows survivors to have their voices heard untampered.”

The law was signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and takes effect at the start of 2026.