Sexual violence diminishes the value of the more than $40 billion taxpayers invest in federal student aid for higher education every school year. Many of the quarter of all women in college who are the victim of a completed or attempted rape interrupt or even end their education as a result of this trauma.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights recently stepped up enforcement of longstanding federal sexual harassment guidelines to protect these victims and our nation's investment in higher education and future. Recognizing that additional reforms are needed to more completely address the challenge, Congress took the next step and introduced the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act or Campus SaVE Act this spring.
The bi-partisan Campus SaVE Act (S. 834/H.R. 2016) modernizes decades old campus safety guidelines found in the Jeanne Clery Act. These enhancements will empower colleges and universities to better prevent and respond to a full spectrum of sexual violence including domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in addition to sexual assault.
Most victims, about 90% according to U.S. Department of Justice research, know their assailants. They are often fellow students from the same social circle which helps to account for why fewer than 5% are ever reported to the police. The greatest threat doesn't lie along a poorly lit walkway; it hides in plain sight in classrooms, residence halls, and student parties.
SaVE enhances safety and encourages reporting by providing a structure to protect student and employee victims who report from retaliation or any ongoing threats. It grants victims the right to any reasonably available changes in their academic, living or working arrangements, options for no-contact orders, assistance in reporting to the police, and a right to be informed of their options in writing so they are empowered to make fully informed decisions.
SaVE improves accountability by establishing consistent procedures for campus disciplinary proceedings with equal rights for both accused and accuser. Trained campus officials, who understand the dynamics of sexual violence, will promptly and equitably investigate and resolve all complaints.
SaVE expands transparency by updating the Clery Act's statistics to include a full spectrum of sexual violence, information that is currently denied to campus communities. Domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking will now be included in the crime statistics given to students and employees every fall.
SaVE revamps education by creating awareness and prevention education programs for all new students and employees that will continue throughout the school year. By going beyond traditional risk reduction alone and covering primary prevention, consent, bystander intervention and reporting options we will begin to change the culture of tolerance for sexual violence and the silence that surrounds it.
Finally, SaVE calls, for the first time, for collaboration between stakeholders in higher education assisted by key federal agencies to identify and share best practices. This collaboration will provide schools with information about programs that have proven successful based on evidence-based outcome measurements.
A bi-partisan coalition of more than 40 United States senators and representatives, led by Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) and Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY 14th), already support the Campus SaVE Act. More than 20 non-profit advocacy and education groups, led by Security On Campus, from across the country also support it.
We've made significant progress advancing SaVE, but need more help to make these changes a reality -- your help. Please visit http://www.securityoncampus.org/ today to take action and support the Campus SaVE Act. Even one voice can help break the silence of sexual violence, and every voice matters.
Follow S. Daniel Carter on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SOCPubPol
The Greek system, drunken and drug-fueled bacchanals, the hook-up culture: these are things to avoid. Period.
As another post mentions: report every transgression to the police. The real police, not the campus rent-a-cops. Hold everyone accountable for their own actions.
This is one instance where the federal government really isn't going to be able to legislate anti-stupidity away.
Look at the DoJ report from the Reno years, the 1/4 figure is stated to be a "highly speculative" extrapolation of data that can't support it. (1 of 2 sources from which the figure is derived.)
A number of researchers have taken to conducting "studies" where they intentionally fail to ask certain questions b/c they are afraid of getting answers that don't fit their preconceived ideas of the "correct" view of society.
The literature is now pervaded by "research" wherein ideological positions are "supported" by cherry picking and misrepresenting data. Here the term "completed or attempted rape" is a blatant misrepresentation.
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/the_new_rules_of_college_sex/
http://thefire.org/article/13466.html
http://reason.com/assets/db/13146418863282.pdf
Re SaVE:
http://thefire.org/article/13126.html
Re OCR and "enforcement", it's a debacle:
http://thefire.org/cases/dueprocess/
Will OCR's new policy be abused? Yes, it has.
http://thefire.org/article/13401.html
"Displaying a shocking disregard for fair procedures on campus, Stanford University is training student jurors in sexual misconduct cases to believe that "act[ing] persuasive and logical" is a sign of guilt. Stanford also instructs campus tribunals that taking a neutral stand between the parties is the equivalent of siding with the accused."
Politicians find it useful to engage in fear-mongering and moralizing.
But reality? Not so much use to them.
"Trained campus officials, who understand the dynamics of sexual violence, will promptly and equitably investigate and resolve all complaints."
NOT good enough. Students quickly find out if campus security has the ability to enforce laws at the same level as local law enforcement and state police. Campus security has been the problem all along. Only when laws are enforced by peace officers with the powers to arrest and jail offenders will the Campus SaVE Act make any difference.
at many schools campus security = real police.
Now this vis-a-vis campus sex crimes:
http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2011/04/former-uc-davis.html#mi_rss=Our%20Region
http://www.calwatchdog.com/2010/05/21/new-uc-cops-mum-on-fraud-scandal/
The sexual violence prevention coordinator was grossly inflating the assault stats at UC-Davis to get federal funds and pocked the money.
UCPD had nothing to say about years of absurdly high report counts. They did nothing to stop the fraud.
How do the police really treat students?
http://thefire.org/article/12422.html
http://www.dailycal.org/2011/09/16/%e2%80%9cout-gunned%e2%80%9d-campus-response-to-protest/
http://thosewhouseit.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/uc-davis-administration-promises-end-to-police-infiltration/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/21/david-morse-camera_n_620409.html
http://archive.dailycal.org/article/109308/faculty_petition_against_protest_conduct_charges
(sorry about the encoding on that one link, blame the DailyCal)