North Cook News

If a bill introduced by Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL) passes in Washington, D.C., student survivors and witnesses may shed an extra layer of fear associated with coming forward about sexual assault on college campuses.

 

Dold and Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) presented the bipartisan Campus Sexual Assault Whistleblower Protection Act Wednesday to move the nation forward on the critical issue of college cultures allowing or even enabling unwanted sexual advances.

 

"[The] prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses is absolutely terrifying,” Dold, himself the father of young daughters, said. “We need to do everything we can to stop sexual assault, and when it does occur, we need to create a culture that helps survivors instead of shaming them."

 

Events reported during the past year signify that universities and colleges may require redirection of their response to harassment issues. In some instances, authorities treat breaches as conduct violations instead of addressing the larger ethical issues surrounding assault.

 

"Our bipartisan bill will support survivors and reduce sexual violence on college campuses by ensuring that any student who reports violence will not be subjected to retaliation," Dold said. “Students who witness such a crime should never fear reprisal for bravely coming forward.”

 

Rather than supporting investigations, Speier said, the trend among many institutions has been for to discourage reporting sex crimes among victims and/or witnesses — often to the point of retaliation. Intimidated by powers that be, students may choose silence over the threatened alternatives of intrusiveness, scholarship withdrawal, or even expulsion.

 

“Congress must take action to ensure our colleges and universities stop blaming and shaming survivors while leaving sexual predators free to victimize countless others,” Speier said. “My bill will require them to live up to this federal mandate instead of bowing down to rape culture.”