The state Senate is shining a light on sexual violence at college campuses with new legislation designed to curb it at many levels.
Filed by Sen. Michael O. Moore, D-Millbury, the proposed bill passed the Senate unanimously and now awaits consideration from the House. If passed, the new state-level policies would serve to complement federal requirements already in place.
Moore called sexual violence “an egregious and horrible thing that students should not have to deal with.”
But, he said, colleges should be fully equipped and responsible for providing all necessary resources to those who become victims of sexual assault.
Areas of focus within the legislation include improved education and training, transparency and enforcement of policies and confidentiality measures to support and protect students.
In a July 30 statement, Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, said, “students who attend Massachusetts colleges and universities should be assured that their campus provides a safe, open and caring environment.”
This legislation, he said, provides the tools to help do that.
One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, according to the National Sexual Violence Resources Center. Their statistics show that, as of last month, the center reports 246 open sexual assault cases under federal investigation at 195 post-secondary institutions across America. Despite these numbers, an estimated 90 percent of students do not report these incidents, the center said.
In addition to mandatory sexual violence prevention and awareness programming, students and staff under the bill must be notified regarding policies and the resources available to them. A confidential resource adviser must be made available to serve as a liaison for students, providing information, reporting options and the consequences of those options. The adviser would also serve to coordinate protective measures for victims within the school, such as educational and housing accommodations.
Language in the bill also requires schools to develop relationships with local sexual assault crisis centers and law enforcement in order to provide off-campus options for dealing with sexual violence.
A campus safety adviser at the Department of Higher Education would work to advance these statewide initiatives.
Diana Sutton-Fernandez, who works as chief diversity officer and Title IX coordinator for Hampshire College, said she is thrilled to see Massachusetts taking sexual violence seriously.
The bill, she said, is a testament to that.
“We have historically come from a culture that has really not supported survivors in a way that now the federal government is asking us to do,” she said.
UMass and Amherst College were among more than 100 colleges and universities named in a federal investigation of possible Title IX violations over their handling of sexual assault complaints. The Department of Education probe, launched in May 2014, is still open for both schools.