Iowa senators back new sex assault-prevention bill

Although many U.S. college and university administrators say a lot has changed about the way they respond to and prevent sexual violence on campus, advocates on Tuesday say not much has changed in the outcomes - or, at least, not enough.

'We have to get through this folks,” U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, said Tuesday during a news conference in Washington, D.C. on proposed legislation aiming to do more to protect students and improve the response to and reporting of sexual assault.

'First, we have to stop those events from taking place,” Ernst said. 'If, for whatever reason, we can't stop those events from taking place, we need to make sure we have in legislation, in law, a way to follow up and educate the public.”

Ernst and fellow Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley were among 16 senators - including seven Republicans and nine Democrats - who spoke in support of the proposed 'Campus Accountability and Safety Act” on Tuesday.

The act, among other things, would establish new campus resources and support services for survivors; ensure minimum training standards for campus personnel; create new transparency requirements; require uniform discipline processes; and enable enforceable and stiffer penalties.

But the bill is far from the only initiative underway to address the issue of sexual violence on college campuses. President Barack Obama in January 2014 signed a presidential memorandum establishing the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, which crafted recommendations, action steps, and policy language to help schools better address the problem.

The White House also created a 'Not Alone” website offering resources for students and schools, and it launched an 'It's On Us” public awareness campaign aimed at 'fundamentally shifting the way we think about sexual assault.

In 2014, lawmakers amended the Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities receiving federal funding to disclose information about crime occurring on and near campus. The changes required colleges to start reporting statistics related to dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, as well as on crimes determine to be unfounded.

And Iowa's public universities have upgraded their response and prevention methods and resources - doing more than is required, in many cases, and touching on some of the mandates proposed through the new legislation.

Monique DiCarlo, sexual misconduct response coordinator for the University of Iowa, said her campus is committed to supporting survivors and her office facilitates academic accommodations as needed. The UI-based Rape Victim Advocacy Program also offers ongoing support, and UI police have developed a 'sexual assault response guarantee,” designed to make sure survivors understand the reporting process, their options, and how to remain in touch with investigators.

University Counseling Service recently implemented a system for same-day walk-in appointments, the institution secured funding for a sexual assault nurse examiner position, and the UI Anti-Violence Coalition meets monthly to identify needs and set priorities.

‘Some very positive aspects'

Still, lawmakers reported Tuesday, the current federal law in many cases 'has had the perverse effect of encouraging colleges to underreport sexual assaults.” According to a news release, U.S. Department of Education data shows college campuses in 2014 reported more than 6,700 forcible sex offenses - rape or sexual battery.

'But a recent Department of Justice study shows that the actual number of offenses is estimated to be at least four times that number,” according to the news release.

The UI Office of the Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator last year received 92 reports involving sexual assault - a number that includes incidents that occurred off campus, in previous semesters or years, or even before a student was affiliated with the university.

That number sits at 44 this year to date.

When looking at sexual assaults reported to UI police, the department took 17 in all of 2015 and 14 so far this year - including eight reports of rape.

Iowa State University police have seen five sexual misconduct or assault reports so far this year, compared with 13 in all of last year.

John McCarroll, university relations executive director for Iowa State, said the proposed legislation 'has some very positive aspects.”

'For example, campus climate surveys, which ISU has done,” he said. 'As the legislation proceeds, we hope to see it strengthened so that the federal government partners with institutions of higher education to ensure a safe environment for our students, faculty, and staff.”

Lawmakers said among the new legislation's goals is to create an environment in which students feel comfortable reporting sexual violence - pointing out that 'confidential reporting options facilitate reporting of campus sexual assault to police and campus authorities.”

To that end, the new law would require institutions to designate 'confidential advisers” to help survivors coordinate support services, find resources and accommodations, and understand their options for reporting to campus authorities or law enforcement.

The law also would prevent schools from sanctioning students who reveal non-violent student conduct violations in the process of reporting sexual violence - like drug and alcohol offenses. And it would make sure everyone - from confidential advisers to disciplinarians - would receive 'specialized training” so to prevent negative outcomes for survivors and accused students.

Andrea Pino, co-founder of the survivor advocacy organization End Rape on Campus, spoke during Tuesday's news conference about the importance of confidential advisers. She reported being sexually assaulted in 2012 while a student at the University of North Carolina.

'A confidential adviser would give student survivors someone to talk to about what happened without prompting an immediate investigation by the police or school,” she said. 'I'm confident that if I had had a confidential adviser to talk to, I likely would have gone forward with my experience.”

‘It's time to do something'

University of Iowa and Iowa State in recent years have faced criticism - and even federal investigations - around their handling of sexual violence on campus. Students and other community members have listed lack of staff training, insensitivity in dealing with survivors, weak consequences, and too few resources among their concerns.

Campus administrators have responded by ramping up training, strengthening consequences, changing the language used to reference victims and survivors, and they both participated in campus climate surveys to gauge public perception of and experience with the issue.

The new legislation, as proposed, would require every university to survey students about their experiences with sexual violence on a biennial and anonymous basis. Colleges and universities would have to publish the results online, and the U.S. Department of Education also would list the names of schools with pending Title IX investigations, along with final resolutions and agreements.

The bill also would create a uniform process for student disciplinary proceedings, and it would establish a broader range of enforceable penalties for schools that don't comply with federal law.

Annie Clark, executive director and co-founder of End Rape on Campus, on Tuesday said that would be a big deal - as the U.S. Department of Education currently has 272 open investigations and limited enforcement options.

'Right now, the department can do two things if a school is found in violation of Title IX,” she said. 'Those two things are, nuclear option, taking away all federal funding from an institution, which hurts the very students that we're trying to protect. Or, basically, nothing. A slap on the wrist and recommendations, which go on a binder on a shelf.”

Clark said she was sexually assaulted in 2007 and, at the time, was shut down by administrators.

'I went to my university for help, and when I did that, I was blamed,” she said during the Tuesday news conference. 'I was asked what I could have done differently in that situation to have prevented my own rape.”

A decade later, Clark said, she's still hearing the same stories.

'It is 2016,” she said. 'It's been 10 years almost since my own assault, and it's time to do something.”