Norton Introduces Resolution to Designate September as ‘National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month’

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) complimented colleges and universities that have embraced September as "National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month," as designated by Norton's resolution introduced in the House this month. A Norton has introduced this resolution for the past several years to highlight the problem of sexual assaults on campuses. She said this resolution is especially needed this year as high schools and college students returned to school in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the exposure of Jeffrey Epstein, who preyed on young women, and the rise of the MeToo Movement. Norton says these scandals add to the nation's determination to change behavior at the earlies stages of the lives of young men and women.

The full text of the resolution is below.

RESOLUTION

Expressing support for the designation of September 2019 as National

Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Whereas colleges and universities are now receiving students for the academic

year;

Whereas 19 percent of college women and 6 percent of college men will be victims

of sexual assault over the course of their undergraduate careers, with

little or no change to this high rate annually;

Whereas freshmen and sophomores in college are at a greater risk of being

sexually assaulted than juniors or seniors;

Whereas college students are at a higher risk of sexual assault during the first few months of school, with more than 50% of college sexual assaults occurring in either August, September, October or November.

Whereas 3 in 4 lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) college students

have experienced sexual harassment and 9 percent of LGBT college

students have experienced sexual assault;

Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that both middle

school and high school students are increasingly experiencing sexual

harassment, sexual assault, and sexual violence, with 30 percent of

female sexual assault victims reporting that they were first attacked

between the ages of 11 and 17;

Whereas many college students are victims of ``incapacitated assault'', in which

they are sexually assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or

otherwise incapacitated;

Whereas these victims often know their attackers;

Whereas less than 5 percent of rapes and attempted rapes of college students are

reported to campus authorities or local law enforcement;

Whereas college sexual assault victims are likely to tell someone they know,

most often a friend, about their victimization experience;

Whereas 40 percent of college sexual assault survivors feared reprisal by the

perpetrator;

Whereas less than 5 percent of college men account for 90 to 95 percent of the

rapes on college campuses;

Whereas many college sexual assault victims fear poor treatment by campus or law

enforcement authorities, or even lack knowledge of the reporting

process;

Whereas approximately 8 percent of colleges and universities still do not allow

confidential reporting of sexual assaults to campus authorities;

Whereas 21 percent of colleges and universities provide no sexual assault

response training for members of their faculty and staff;

Whereas more than 30 percent of colleges and universities do not provide any

sexual assault training for students;

Whereas approximately 41 percent of colleges and universities have not conducted

a single sexual assault investigation in the last 5 years;

Whereas more than 90 percent of colleges and universities state that sexual

assault victims on their campuses have access to community victim

assistance and advocacy programs, yet only 51 percent of the colleges

and universities reported utilizing these services in their team

approach;

Whereas most colleges and universities fail to provide access to a specially

trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE);

Whereas law enforcement officials at 30 percent of colleges and universities

receive no training on how to respond to reports of sexual violence;

Whereas more than 70 percent of colleges and universities do not have protocols

regarding how the institution and local law enforcement should work

together to respond to sexual violence;

Whereas 33 percent of colleges and universities failed to provide training to

dispel ``rape myths'' to persons adjudicating sexual assault claims;

Whereas 43 percent of the Nation's largest colleges and universities have

students assisting in adjudicating sexual assault cases, which creates

privacy and conflict of interest concerns;

Whereas 22 percent of colleges and universities allow athletic department

oversight of sexual violence cases involving student athletes;

Whereas more than 10 percent of colleges and universities do not have a title IX

coordinator, as required by Federal law;

Whereas many college sexual assault victims experience confusion over how to

report a sexual assault, are unsure of acceptable standards of sexual

conduct and definitions of rape and sexual assault, and fear

punishment for activities preceding some sexual assaults, such as

underage drinking;

Whereas only 16 percent of colleges and universities reported conducting

confidential climate surveys regarding behaviors that constitute or are

associated with sexual assault;

Whereas only 22 percent of colleges and universities provide sexual violence

training targeted at the Greek system and only 37 percent provide

training targeted at student athletes;

Whereas 21 percent of the Nation's largest private colleges and universities

reported not independently investigating all claims of sexual assault

that they conveyed to the Department of Education;

Whereas only 10 to 25 percent of the perpetrators of college sexual assaults

were permanently expelled;

Whereas only 10 percent of reported college rape cases result in criminal

charges against the defendant;

Whereas victims of campus sexual assaults are more likely to make changes in

their lives, such as changing a college major, changing campus housing,

and dropping a class, as a result of the victimization;

Whereas over 90 percent of colleges and universities do not have an affirmative

consent policy regarding sexual relations;

Whereas, the Trump Administration has undermined key protections against campus sexual assault provided by Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972; and

Whereas September 2019 is an appropriate month to designate as National Campus

Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives supports the

designation of National Campus Sexual Assault Awareness Month.