According to the U.S. Department of Education, 11.5 million women attended college this fall. Of those, almost 12 million young women, 2.3 million have or will be sexually assaulted. A Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll revealed that 20 percent of women are sexually assaulted before leaving college, this issue is finally starting to be widely discussed. The White House just launched a campaign with CollegeHumor to bring attention to sexual assault and to fuel conversation about the issue.
The Senior Advisor to the White House has stated that the initiative is to empower and “change the culture” to end sexual assault.
And while there are government officials actively trying to make college campuses safe for young women, there are elected officials doing the opposite. In fact, there is a bill in the House of Representatives right now that, if passed, will do no more than endanger college students and prevent universities from keeping sexual assault survivors safe.
It's called the 'Safe Campus Act,' and it will do virtually nothing to keep your campus safe. If passed, the bill would prohibit universities from investigating sexual offenses unless the victim agrees to report the case to the local police. It is an effort to ensure that students aren't being falsely accused and expelled without reasonable cause.
If 80 percent of student rape and sexual assault incidents go unreported to the police, then wouldn't it be safe to say that the majority of survivors aren't comfortable with that idea? Often times, it's easier for students to go to university officials with these incidents instead of the police.
As it stands today, university administrators are able to investigate cases of sexual assault and discipline the perpetrators based upon their code of conduct. This may result in changing classes, dorm arrangements, or expulsion. This ensures that the 80 percent of women, who are uncomfortable with turning to the police, can still feel safe.
With the Safe Campus Act, if a girl is too scared to testify and won't report it to the police, her rapist goes free. The university will not be able to enforce any disciplinary actions against them. Making police involvement a pre-requisite won’t make any more women report their assaults. It will let more rapists off the hook. Forcing a woman to file a report, hire a lawyer; go through a lengthy and emotionally demanding trial to prove that they were raped should not be a requirement to have her rapist, at least, removed from her English class. Requiring a woman to press charges in order for her university to protect her will do no more than increase the number of assaults that go unreported and keep these women in danger.
