White House targets campus sex assaults

The White House will debut a series of recommendations and government actions Tuesday designed to reduce campus sexual assaults, following a three-month investigation by a presidential task force created earlier this year.

“Both the president and the vice president are committed to rooting out this violence wherever it exists, but especially on college campuses,” said a White House official.

{mosads}The administration will launch a centralized website — NotAlone.gov — that serves as a clearinghouse for students to find information about enforcement data and how to respond to a sexual assault. The site will link students to resources like mental health services and crisis hotlines, and give them information about how to file complaints about assaults.

“Colleges and universities need to face the facts about sexual assault.  No more turning a blind eye or pretending it doesn’t exist. We need to give victims the support they need — like a confidential place to go — and we need to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Vice President Biden said.

The website will also provide schools and advocates more guidance on their federal legal obligations to respond to sexual assaults, as well as research about preventing and responding to crimes.

“We hope this would be a resource for the campus community, but also for all of us,” a senior administration official said.

The administration will also produce sample confidentiality and reporting policies for universities, offer specialized tracings to school officials, and provide guidance on how colleges can improve their investigative and disciplinary protocols. The federal government will also facilitate partnerships between universities and community-based organizations like rape crisis centers, the White House said.

The steps were recommended by a task force proposed by the president earlier this year. At an event at a White House, Obama warned that the scourge of sexual violence “threatens our families, our communities, and ultimately, our country.”

“We have the capacity to stop sexual assault, support those who have survived it, and bring perpetrators to justice,” Obama said.

Administration officials said they spoke with thousands of people as part of the review via 27 online and in-person listening sessions. The administration also solicited written comments from stakeholders, and officials discussed the progress with lawmakers, including Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Both lawmakers are expected to attend the event at the White House on Monday.

Earlier this year, President Obama met in the Oval Office with Cabinet secretaries and senior administration officials to discuss the issue. The administration also released a memo detailing the prevalence of sexual assaults, noting that more than 23.5 million Americans have been the victims of sex crimes.

The White House says they will continue to pursue ways the federal government can help reduce sex crimes on campuses going forward. 

One area of focus will be so-called climate surveys, which are designed to help schools gauge the true prevalence of sexual assaults on their campuses. The administration will partner with Rutgers University to develop a pilot version of the survey and seek legislative or regulatory ways to require schools to conduct such a survey of their student bodies by 2016.

The Centers for Disease Control will also promote intervention programs designed to reduce sexual assault by getting bystanders to step in and help potential victims.

“We will continue to work toward solutions, clarity, and better coordination,” the White House said in a statement. We will review the legal frameworks surrounding sexual assault for possible regulatory or statutory improvements, and seek new resources to enhance enforcement.”