The Safe Campus Act is a bill sponsored by Republican Matt Salmon (Arizona) and purportedly designed to decrease sexual assault and rapes on college campuses, but many survivors and advocacy groups are saying that this act would do more damage than help.

If the Safe Campus Act passes, a college or university would only be allowed to intervene and punish a student accused of sexual assault or rape if the victim also went to the police. A criminal trial would be the deciding punishment for the student and the college or university would not be able to proceed without alerting law officials.

This bill is designed to do several things: increase communication between campus jurisdiction and law enforcement, improve the reliability of reporting criminal charges, and decrease the amount of sexual assault and rape crimes on campuses. But will it?

It's already clear that colleges don't always approach and respond to allegations of sexual assault properly and that something else needs to be done. However, the Safe Campus Act may not be the right solution, and many are speaking out.

There's a couple issues with the Safe Campus Act:

1. Sexual misconduct is the only accusation that would be help to this standard. The victims of other crimes are not forced to interact with the police for a crime that has occurred on campus.

2. Sophie Karasek, director of End Rape on Campus, points out, "It sends the message that if you didn't go to law enforcement, then what happened to you wasn't real and wasn't important, and that is the opposite of the culture we're trying to create." For a crime that involves students, the jurisdiction at that university should be allowed to move forward with an investigation and punishment of a student regardless of law enforcement's decision.

3. Sexual assault victims and organizations noted that this bill would have an incredibly detrimental effect on the reporting rate for sexual crimes on campuses. Dealing with law enforcement officials can take longer and be doubly emotionally taxing for students, especially for those who are going through the same process on campus.

4. Taking the responsibility off of campuses and onto police sweeps the problem under the rug for victims who will not get the same support from college student conducts.

Write to your senator or campus government to give your opinion on the Safe Campus Act to protect the victims of sexual assault, battery, or rape.