In April, the Daily Free Press published a Letter to the Editor written by a female student who had the courage to come forward as a survivor of sexual assault. Her story, which circulated around Boston University’s campus as well as far beyond it on various social media platforms, addressed the extensive amount of roadblocks and dismissals she faced as she attempted to have her alleged assailant punished for sexually assaulting her. Although he was suspended, his punishment was later appealed because she “never told him to stop.”
This woman’s resilience is not representative of a common trend. While she had the bravery to respond to the university’s uncooperativeness in this process, many victims of sexual assault simply can’t work up the strength to even report their assault to administration, much less to bring it to the attention of their peers. Sexual assault is traumatic and life-changing. It takes true courage to come forward.
In that case, recognize that it could get much worse. The Safe Campus Act of 2015, a bill before the U.S. House of Representatives, would prevent colleges and universities from punishing “a student accused of sexual assault and battery unless the reporting victim also goes to police with the complaint,” The Huffington Post reported Thursday.
According to HuffPo, backing Reps. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., Kay Granger, R-Texas and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, claim that requiring students to report their cases to the police will give them more of an advantage when sexual assault cases are reviewed months after the actual assault takes place.
But not to worry: students can still be punished by their university for other crimes that aren’t of a sexual nature, such as stealing or throwing a punch.
Does this seem repugnant to you? It should.
This legislation essentially implies that sexual assault is not as significant as other violations because reporting it now requires at least double the effort. There really is no feasible explanation for this legislation. And here’s why:
This would not only make it more difficult for survivors of sexual assault to come forward, but it would also foster an environment in which assailants could continue to go unpunished for their actions because their victims could be too afraid or embarrassed or ashamed to come forward. The amount of reported cases compared to unreported is staggering: in December of 2014, the Justice Department stated that only 20 percent of sexual assault victims go to the police, PBS reported. Among other things, the Letter showed us that, at least at BU, victims are already required to jump through hoop after hoop on campus to make administrators even aware of their assault, let alone to prompt appreciable action. Requiring a separate police report only makes this process more difficult and less manageable for those who have been assaulted.
And, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, many people simply do not trust law enforcement. In essence, having to relive an assault once is challenging enough — twice, and we are either pushing victims back into the darkest chapter of their lives or forcing them to seek other options.
Meanwhile, without police involvement, perpetrators wouldn’t be suspended or expelled or removed from campus. And they certainly wouldn’t be arrested or forced to register as sex offenders. What is stopping students from committing these crimes? Who is to say that an offender won’t blackmail or threaten the assaulted into keeping his or her mouth shut? This legislation, in simplicity, makes it easier to get away with sexual assault.
In fairness, BU isn’t the only university to have a negative history with the way they handle sexual assault — this is a real epidemic. Here at BU, we are told that we ourselves are responsible for avoiding and reporting sexual assault, while the administration totes the resources it provides to those who have already been attacked. On one hand, universities suppress “bad publicity” by avoiding addressing sexual assault as a real problem — but instead of keeping sexual assault under wraps, why don’t universities take the opportunity to first recognize then deal with the problem? Pushing the Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Center down our throats doesn’t resolve the need for it.
But good publicity should really be about making students at your university feel safe, and making us feel like we have a place to go if we are raped or molested or touched inappropriately or verbally abused. We can only hope that if this legislation does pass, universities would change their angle and inform students of how to act accordingly. This would mean encouraging students to go to the police when their own schools cannot help them. But then again, students shouldn’t be responsible for “avoiding” sexual assault — students should be responsible for not assaulting, and we need legislators and administrators that recognize that. Until then, tell us that while you work against sexual assault, you will help us in the mean time. Then, actually do it.
