Different groups of federal legislators proposed bills Wednesday calling for a greater protection of survivors of sexual violence and for uniform reporting and proceeding standards for addressing sexual violence on college campuses.
The Campus Accountability and Safety Act will require universities to disclose information about their handling of sexual violence with a stiff penalty for violating the law. The Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act will require that survivors, if they request, have access to confidential advocates and specific sets of resources such as ongoing counseling and medical exams.
A state audit released in June on the handling of cases of sexual assault at UCLA and three other California universities found that UCLA does not sufficiently educate or train members of its community, such as not training first responders like campus police on how to respond to sexual violence.
The Campus Accountability and Safety Act would require universities to annually conduct confidential online surveys of their students about their experiences dealing with sexual violence and to annually report the result. It would also require universities to have advisors to provide survivors with counseling and details on how to report sexual violence, should survivors choose to do so.
The bill would also set a minimum standard for training of university staff as determined by the United States Secretary of Education.
UCLA already has advocates who help survivors connect to legal and counseling resources as part of the Campus Assault Resources and Education team. While some UC campuses do have advocates on behalf of survivors, other UC campuses such as UC Berkeley have not had one yet.
Calling for the stronger enforcement of federal laws on sexual violence, the bill would also up the cost of violating the Clery Act, which requires universities to disclose statistics on on-campus crimes, to $35,000 to $150,000 per incident. A university may also face a penalty of up to 1 percent of its operating budget for violating a part of the bill. According to UCLA Academic Planning and Budget’s briefing in 2012, UCLA has an operating budget of about $4.65 billion, which means it can be penalized up to $46.5 million in the event of a violation.
“No bill is going to solve every problem in the world,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in a press conference announcing the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. “(But) as a society, we should do a better job of condemning (sexual violence).”
The Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act, introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Susan Davis (D-San Diego) would require universities to designate an advocate for survivors. The advocate would help survivors get access to medical, mental health and legal resources and guide survivors through the legal process.
University of California President Janet Napolitano endorsed the bill in a letter Tuesday to Boxer.
“Your legislation … allows for institutions to build on their own efforts rather than follow a one-size-fits-all approach,” Napolitano said.
Savannah Badalich, founder of 7000 in Solidarity at UCLA, also endorsed the bill, according to the press release from Boxer.
The federal government has been ramping up its efforts to address sexual assaults on college campuses this year, following student movements highlighting deficiencies in campuses’ efforts. In May, the Department of Education released the list of 55 universities under investigation for a Title IX violation.
The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault has already recommended several changes in April to urge universities to change their practices of addressing sexual violence. Recommendations include anonymous surveys of sexual assault cases every three years and a website, NotAlone.gov. which includes data on universities’ compliance with Title IX and the Clery Act.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.