Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

[Nancy Cantalupo <>]

Title: Editing:20140709 - Campus Assault #1

Dear SAPC and WRAC-L colleagues,

 

Everyone on these lists may already be following the Congressional goings-on related to campus sexual and gender-based violence, but at least one member of these lists suggested that my sending a synopsis might be helpful, so this is that synopsis.  The general summary is that several Senators have announced plans for legislation, including Senators Gillibrand, McCaskill and Blumenthal.  Some statements from the Senators are in the message from Senator Gillibrand below and at http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/sen-claire-mccaskill-turns-her-focus-to-sex-assaults-on-college-campuses/2014/06/27/85d7dd44-fdfc-11e3-8176-f2c941cf35f1_story.html?tid=recommended_strip_3.  An older statement from Senator Gillibrand is at: http://time.com/100144/kirsten-gillibrand-campus-sexual-assault/  I know that there is some activity on the House side as well, but there hasn’t been much, if any, media coverage of it.

 

Prior to this most recent news, there were three roundtables held by Senator McCaskill on the Clery Act, Title IX and “Administrative Processes and the Criminal Justice System.”  Their links are as follows:

 

http://www.c-span.org/video/?319448-1/campus-sexual-assault (Clery; May 19)

http://www.c-span.org/video/?319700-1/title-ix-campus-sexual-assault (Title IX; June 2)

http://www.c-span.org/video/?320111-1/sexual-assault-college-campuses (Administrative Processes and the Criminal Justice System; June 23)

 

Senator McCaskill also just released a report on the survey that she did in the spring that I know was discussed on at least one of these lists.  It can be found at http://www.mccaskill.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SurveyReportwithAppendix.pdf.  Here is an article about it that discusses the report as well as the way in which the Senator and the American Council of Education have butted heads over the survey: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/university-group-says-mccaskill-survey-underestimates-colleges-attempts-to-deal/article_318798fd-2244-56c5-a5bd-5e46cfa4f278.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed.

 

Finally, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) committee held hearings on campus SV on June 26.  There were so many people at the hearing, my estimate is that less than half got into the hearing room.  The first two people to testify were the head of the Office for Civil Rights, Catherine Lhamon, and the head of the Clery compliance office, Jim Moore, followed by student survivors, Emily Renda and John Kelly, and University of New Hampshire sexual assault prevention expert, Jane Stapleton.  C-Span coverage is at: http://www.c-span.org/video/?320167-1/sexual-assault-college-campuses and written testimony can be found at http://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/hearing/?id=0b51c18f-5056-a032-5268-c16c292050b5.  HELP is the committee with “jurisdiction” over education-related legislation, and if you watch the C-Span coverage, you will see that Senator Harkin, the Chair, promises that there will be something in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act on campus sexual violence.

 

I encourage others on these lists to send out info about state level legislative and other governmental activity on this or related topics (see this article for one such piece of state activity: http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/calif-universities-urged-to-improve-training-on-handling-of-sex-assaults/80495?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en).  Although aware that several state legislatures and agencies have taken up this topic, I haven’t been able to follow all of it, so I personally would be grateful for such info.  I suspect others may also be interested and hope the info in this email will be helpful/interesting to at least some of you!

 

Best,

Nancy

 

 

Nancy Chi Cantalupo

Research Fellow, Victim Rights Law Center;

Researcher, Georgetown Law;

 

You can access my scholarship on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at: http://ssrn.com/author=884485

 

From: [mailto:] On Behalf Of Kirsten Gillibrand
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2014 9:19 AM
Subject: We have to put a stop to this

 

A month from now, young men and women across our country will head off to college.

Our students should be worried about selecting their major, meeting their freshman year roommate and learning which foods to avoid in the dining hall – but the appalling truth is that for American women, the price of college comes with a one-in-five chance of being sexually assaulted.

What’s more, many colleges and universities are failing to hold assailants accountable: Some survivors drop out of college altogether while their attackers graduate, and others are forced to attend classes and live in dormitories alongside their assailants. That’s a far cry from the safe environment our students deserve.

We have to put a stop to this, and I am currently working on legislation to combat the problem. But right now, one of the most pressing issues we face is lack of awareness about this nationwide crisis.

Click here to get the facts in our new infographic and share it to spread the word. Let’s call attention to this epidemic so we can change the debate and ensure that institutions fulfill their basic responsibility to protect our students.

Thank you for taking the time to learn. This issue is so important, and I’m so grateful you will join me in standing with college students across our country.

Kirsten

 

PAID FOR BY GILLIBRAND FOR SENATE