Bill targets campus violence toward women
The state House of Representatives voted unanimously April 10 to improve the state”™s response to sexual violence at all of Connecticut”™s colleges and universities.
One in five women on college campuses suffers assault and just 20 percent of assaults are being reported, according to statistics cited by the state Legislature”™s Higher Education Committee.
The data surfaced in connection with the 144-0 passage of House Bill 5029, which expands sexual assault policies at all college campuses in Connecticut. The bill still requires Senate and executive branch approval, but a spokesman for state Rep. Brenda Kupchick, R- Fairfield, said the bill appears to be fast-tracked and no opposition has surfaced.
The proposal toughens regulations enacted in 2012 that required schools to establish policies and regulations regarding sexual assaults. The legislation voted on Thursday mandates that colleges and universities treat stalking in the same manner.
The legislation also requires colleges immediately to provide victims of sexual assault with supportive information regarding their rights and options. Victims may report assaults anonymously. The legislation would require colleges to establish sexual response teams and partner with local sexual assault service providers to enhance the level of care given to victims.
The legislation also requires colleges to annually report information on sexual assault policies and details of sexual assault cases to the state legislature for review.
In voting for the legislation, Kupchick, whose district includes Fairfield and Sacred Heart universities, said in a statement, “It”™s important for every student who has become a victim of sexual violence to have the resources and proper support system they need. I was deeply disturbed when I listened to the public testimony from UConn students, how they were treated by the University when they reported their sexual assault. This legislation embodies the appropriate steps to ensure our universities and colleges create a strict protocol for any student who is sexually assaulted.”
The bill”™s full name is “An Act Concerning Sexual Assault, Stalking and Intimate Partner Violence on Campus.”