Today, April 1, marks the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
This month is important to survivors both on our campus and across the world, who have all struggled with the trauma of sexual violence. Throughout the upcoming weeks, campus sexual assault prevention groups like 7,000 in Solidarity, Counseling and Psychological Services’ Campus Assault Resources and Education, and the Clothesline Project at UCLA will be organizing a wide variety of fantastic programming for survivors and allies alike. But these events are meant to bring more than awareness. They are a call to action to end sexual violence on our campus and within our society as a whole.
Last month, the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act went into effect. A portion of the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act imposed a variety of additional requirements on our university in terms of how it approaches gender-based violence. One major change the University of California had to make as a result of this law was updating its policy on sexual harassment and sexual violence.
The new policy has made important strides in comparison to the previous version. The most substantial change – an update to the University’s definition of “consent” – came directly from UCLA students when they were given the opportunity to edit a draft of the policy back in November.
The new definition states that consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual encounter, and that it can be revoked at any time. Once consent is withdrawn, the sexual activity must stop immediately. The policy goes on to say consent “to some form of sexual activity does not imply consent to other forms of sexual activity,” and a relationship does not imply consent.
These changes are important and powerful. However, it’s unfortunate that it took a new law, federal complaints against UC Berkeley for violating Title IX and the Clery Act and a pending investigation by the California State Auditors Office into Berkeley and UCLA to make them happen. These efforts are not a proactive and self-motivated attempt to better help survivors of sexual violence by the UC Office of the President – they’re changes that we, as students, had to demand.
Needless to say, they were overdue.
However, there are still quite a few drawbacks to the policy. Two of the three major suggestions provided by UCLA students to UCOP were not integrated into the final draft: medical amnesty and a “Good Samaritan” clause. These clauses would protect a survivor or witness, respectively, from university punishment should they be under the influence of mind-altering substances during a sexual assault.
Unfortunately, there are more wasted opportunities in the policy. It does not ensure that complainants have the right to call for a formal investigation – meaning the Title IX officer still acts as gatekeeper to whether a Student Conduct Code hearing happens or not. Not to mention that there is no appeal right explicitly given to the survivor if they are not satisfied with the disciplinary sanctions, and survivors experiencing sexual harassment by a faculty member may not know of any disciplinary action given if the faculty member is found responsible.
With all these holes in UC policy, UCLA has a unique opportunity.
In the upcoming months, the UCLA Student Conduct Code will be revised to meet this new standard set by the UC policy. This means we can go above and beyond the new standard and be the model for sexual assault policies on college campuses. Compliance isn’t enough anymore. UCLA’s Student Conduct Code should include a medical amnesty and “Good Samaritan” clause.
And even more suggestions have arisen since the drafting of the UC policy. Undocumented students need legal amnesty or protection from deportation should they report. Students – both undergraduate and graduate students – have the right to know the disciplinary action given to a faculty member found responsible for sexual harassment. We have a duty to our student survivors on this campus to make sure they feel safe reporting – regardless of intoxication or immigration status.
The Office of the Dean of Students will start the revision process and accept suggestions for the new UCLA Student Conduct Code soon, and we, as students, need to start asking ourselves how we’d like our university to treat us and our peers in case of such an emergency. You shouldn’t have to have experienced sexual violence and felt afraid to report in order to be invested in positive change for our campus. Come out to the many events we have planned this month to learn from survivors, allies and peers. Check out a full list of all the events at swc.ucla.edu. We all have the responsibility to end sexual assault, and awareness is only the first step.
Badalich is an third-year international development studies and gender studies student and the USAC Student Wellness Commissioner.