Resource Center: Campus Accountability & Safety Act

Introduction

Currently, a woman in America who attends college is more likely to be a victim of sexual assault than one who does not attend college. In addition, according to the National Institute of Justice, an estimated one out of five women who attends college will be sexually assaulted during her time there. But unfortunately, too many universities and colleges across the country refuse to acknowledge that they even have a problem.

Perversely, the current federal reporting requirements actually incentivize non-reporting, under-reporting and non-compliance with the standards under Title IX and the Clery Act (also known as the “Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.”) In addition, there is very little cooperation on the part of universities with local law enforcement and, furthermore, students are not provided with adequate information about their rights and options in the event of a sexual assault. The result: according to Senator Claire McCaskill's campus sexual assault survey of 440 four-year colleges and universities, 41% of the schools surveyed have not initiated a sexual assault investigation in the past five years.

The bipartisan Campus Accountability and Safety Act will create incentives for schools to take proactive steps to protect their students and rid their campuses of sexual predators.

This new bipartisan legislation will:

Establish new campus resources and support services for student survivors
Ensure minimum training standards for on-campus personnel
Create new historic transparency requirements
Increase campus accountability and coordination with law enforcement
Establish enforceable Title IX penalties and stiffer penalties for Clery Act violations