Campus sexual assault is prevalent but it doesn’t need to be, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. said.
McCaskill held a conference call with college reporters across Missouri Monday to address her bill heading to Congress titled “Campus Accountability and Safety Act.”
The bill came after McCaskill visited schools in October as part of her “Claire on Campus” tour and launched a survey of schools across the U.S. to determine how the sexual assault problem could be addressed.
The survey found more than 40 percent of schools have not conducted a single investigation in five years, 21 percent provide no training for faculty and staff and 31 percent provide no training for students.
“We made the pledge and kept the pledge that we would never release the individual results of these surveys because we were more interested in the data than trying to expose a university who had not done a very good job in this area,” McCaskill said. “As a result, I think the data we got was honest and forthright.”
The bill was introduced last year but went through some changes and compromises, McCaskill said.
“We now, on a bipartisan basis, have crafted a very strong piece of legislation,” McCaskill said. “None of us are getting it exactly like we like it. We are making some compromises among this group in order to move forward in a bipartisan fashion.”
In the original bill, a climate survey would be required every year of universities across the country. In the newer version, this survey would be conducted every two years, which will lessen the burden on universities, McCaskill said.
This survey would be more accurate than the current Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which McCaskill said parents and students don’t look at.
“Every two years would be sufficient and in some ways, more reliable,” she said. “It would allow apples to apples comparison over time whether or not the problem is getting better or getting worse. This climate survey is incredibly important as it allows students to anonymously weigh in on how safe they feel, whether or not they are aware of what’s in place to be of assistance, if they are assaulted if they know where to go to get information, how they believe their campus is handling this problem (and) what is any interaction they’ve had with their university or college around this problem.”
The Clery Act can be open to interpretation to different law enforcement agencies on campus, resulting in varying statistics across the nation, McCaskill said.
“The Clery Act portion of this bill will continue to be debated as we go through the legislative process,” she said. “It won’t shock me if it is adjusted during the process because a lot of the administrators in the higher education see the Clery Act as it’s now constituted as a lot of work without a lot of bang for the buck. Clery information is confusing because the standards for reporting crime under the Clery Act are not identical to the uniform crime reporting standards that are done in the rest of law enforcement.”
Another change would be fines collected would go to special grant funds, which would allow them to create more programming and special resources to help those assaulted. Previously, it was proposed that fines collected would go to law enforcement agencies, which created a problem with those agencies in giving them an incentive to fine.
Additionally, new provisions would clarify the requirements an institution has to provide written notice to both the victim that has made the complaint and the alleged perpetrator.
The act would establish a minimum training standard for schools, fairness in the disciplinary process and new transparency requirements.
“This bill is raising profile of this issue,” McCaskill said. “Campus sexual assault is being talked about more than it ever has been.”
There will be one standardized system for dealing with accusations of sexual assault. There has been a problem on campuses of athletes being treated differently when it comes to these types of cases, she said.
“I am very focused to make sure there is one system that is fair for everyone on campus,” McCaskill said. “The days of trying to blame the victim, particularly when the alleged perpetrator is an athlete, have to be over.”
Campuses shouldn’t be afraid to make solving sexual assault crimes prevalent, she said.
“We are working on getting over hurdles that making it obvious on a campus where you go for help after a sexual assault does not stigmatize the university,” McCaskill said. “Universities are scared everybody will think this is a ‘rape campus’ that has a huge problem and we’ve got to get over that fear. Making that information obvious and available is the best way a university can show it cares not that the problem is bigger there than other places, but that they are committed to a campus that is safe.”
Many universities have training, but it is not ongoing, McCaskill said.
“There is no excuse now … we are constantly communicating with one another,” she said. “We ought to be doing a much better job of getting information out so people know where people can go to get the support and help they need. Most schools do have some kind of program and orientation but the problem is at orientation, everyone is in information overload. This is more about making sure this is an ongoing process, and this is not something that is just check the box at orientation.”
This bill would benefit campuses, McCaskill said.
“This bill will make a difference for years to come if we can get it to the president’s desk and signed into law,” she said.