ANCH O R N EWSPAPER THE
Week of March 2, 2015 | Vol: 88 | Issue: #21
TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT
−Photo by Tyler H. Vigeant
Standing up for survivors, or standing in their way? Legislature requires colleges report campus sexual assault Elisha kay aldrich News Editor @anchorNews
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t normally goes without question that a crime should be reported to police. But, that isn’t such a given in sexual assault cases, especially those on college campuses. Between 20 and 25 percent of college age women have experienced sexual assault, but only around 5 percent report to the police. With the obvious rift in the crime and the report of the crime, should local government get involved? That is the question being debated right now in Rhode Island. H5034 was introduced by Representative Mia Ackerman (D, District 45) back in January, and requires that if a college is notified of a sexual assault perpetrated by a student against another student, or by an employee against a student or employee, they must immediately notify local law enforcement. Reporting the perpetrator to the police does not restrict the college from instituting their own disciplinary action.
The bill does not include what would need to happen once the assault is reported. however. It does not say that local law enforcement will be required to investigate the case, if the survivor will need to provide a rape kit, or if the college has the option to not report the attack if the survivor chooses not to. It also does not provide any details concerning what might happen if the perpetrator was falsely accused. Ackerman told the Providence Journal back in January that the reason for the bill is to make sure the information is dealt with in a proper manner, and to protect the victim. But, many have been left skeptical about the bill, including Rhode Island College President Nancy Carriuolo. “With regard to Rep. Ackerman’s legislation, while we applaud her intent, we are concerned that with mandatory reporting some students, fearing publicity, will remain silent and will not benefit from the counseling and medical services they urgently need,” she said.
Day One, a local nonprofit that supports sexual assault survivors, also spoke to the Providence Journal about their opposition to H5034. In a statement, Day One said that colleges must always do what’s best for the victim, even if that includes not reporting the crime to the police. “We know we can’t just leave these cases to the criminal justice system, in part because most victims are so reluctant to report assaults to the police. So the question is not should colleges be mandated to report these crimes to the police? The question is how do we create a system where the victim’s choices are the priority and the process is designed to work in the best interests of the victim?” Responding to these criticisms, Ackerman met with several Rhode Island colleges to open a discussion on what can be done to adjust some of the language in the bill. “We can’t just submit legislation with no thought to the consequences,” said Ackerman. “It was nice to get all these people together and hear what they had to say.” Colleges in attendance included representatives from URI, Salve Regina, New England Institute of Technology, Roger
Williams, Johnson & Wales, Providence College, and others. While RIC was not in attendance, President Carriuolo stated that she has spoken with Ackerman about the sensitive nature of the bill. “I responded to Representative Ackerman very quickly – before the group you mentioned even convened to give input – so although you did not see RIC’s name on the list, RIC was included in the input Representative Ackerman gathered,” she said. Campus sexual assault has been a hot button topic all over the country, and the discussion at RIC has only widened since the fall, when such a crime was committed within residence life. According to Carriuolo, the college does its best to work with the victim, as well as spread awareness around campus. “As a standard operating procedure, campus police, health services and counselors always urge victims of sexual assault to report the crime to law enforcement,” she said. “Moreover, RIC is actively working with Day One and the Green Dot bystander training to improve campus-wide awareness and education in the area of sexual assault and violence.”