February 2017 - Save - Leading The Policy Movement For Fairness and Due Process On Campus

Contact: Jonathon Andrews

Telephone: 301-801-0608

Following Reports of Continued Abuses, SAVE Proposes Stronger Campus Sexual Assault Legislation

WASHINGTON / February 27, 2017 – In the wake of ongoing reports of campus proceedings that shortchange sexual assault victims and the accused, SAVE is releasing a stronger version of its Campus Equality, Fairness, and Transparency Act. The revised bill enhances the involvement of local law enforcement agencies for allegations of sexual violence. The CEFTA bill also strengthens due process protections and the presumption of innocence for accused students.

The revised model bill follows last week’s revelations that the University of Alaska signed a settlement agreement with the federal Office for Civil Rights agreeing to reinvestigate 23 cases of alleged sexual assault. In many cases, the university did not provide complainants temporary relief, like classroom changes or new living situations while the cases were investigated (1).

The revised model bill also comes in the wake of a February 24 report of a California Superior Court judge who ruled the sexual assault resolution procedures at San Diego State University were so riddled with conflict-of-interest that they were “enough to shock the Court’s conscience.” The judge remanded the case back to the university (2).

SAVE’s revised model bill makes these and other changes:

Allegations of sexual violence will be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency, if possible and with the consent of the complainant.
Institutions shall not be obligated to begin any disciplinary process that is not initiated at the request of the complainant.
The institution shall not investigate an allegation as long as the criminal proceeding is pending.
Institutions will use at least a “clear and convincing” standard when suspension or expulsion is a possible sanction.
Institutions will create a voluntary Alternative Dispute Resolution process.

The model bill is available on the SAVE website (3).

Numerous public opinion surveys show a strong majority of Americans favor the involvement of criminal justice officials in campus rape cases (4). SAVE is currently conducting a campaign to End Kangaroo Courts (5).

Citations:

SAVE – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments — is working for effective and fair solutions to campus sexual assault: www.saveservices.org

Contact: Jon Andrews

Telephone: 301-801-0608

Email: jandrews@saveservices.org

‘Kangaroo Courts’ on the Loose: SAVE Urges Lawmakers to End Campus Rape Tribunals

WASHINGTON / February 14, 2017 – Recent reports at Baylor, Stanford, and Tufts universities reveal campus disciplinary committees lack competent staff, adhere to flawed policies, and suffer from severe conflict of interest problems. As a result, sexual assault victims and accused students alike are being shortchanged.

In late January, lawsuits were filed by two former female students against Baylor University. The women charged school coaches were inappropriately involved in disciplinary and criminal matters for sexual assault cases, among other allegations. http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/18569197

Last week, the Editorial Board of the Stanford Review issued a strongly worded verdict on its college’s sexual assault policies: “At Stanford, we have seen firsthand what many students and faculty are recognizing nationally: the reforms have failed. Sexual assault investigations usually fail to secure both relief for victims and civil liberties for the accused.” https://stanfordreview.org/dear-betsy-restore-justice-to-title-ix-c7c72df7616c#.kihodp3vw

On February 9, an exposé strongly critical of the Title IX policies at Tufts University was released. The report charged sexual assault investigators possessed far too much discretionary power and were not held to proper standards of impartiality. The report also revealed that Title IX training materials were being kept secret. http://www.sa4s.org/single-post/2017/02/09/Tufts-University%E2%80%99s-Title-IX-Policies-Inadequately-Protect-Victims

Affirmative consent policies appear to have lost much of their appeal. Last year, 11 states considered affirmative consent bill, but only in Connecticut did lawmakers approve the bill. All the other states – Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – opted to not enact affirmative consent policies. http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/affirmative-consent/

In Georgia, legislators are now considering a bill that would require the referral of all felony-level allegations of sexual assault to local law enforcement. Sponsored by Rep. Earl Ehrhart, the bill was approved by a key committee two weeks ago. http://watchdog.org/288049/due-process-bill-clears-first-hurdle-georgia/

SAVE has developed a model sexual assault bill titled the Campus Equality, Fairness, and Transparency Act that is designed to encourage the referral of allegations of criminal sexual offenses to criminal justice officials: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/cefta/

More information on the problems of campus rape adjudications is available here: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/kangaroo-courts/

SAVE (Stop Abusive and Violent Environments) is working for fair and effective solutions to campus sexual assault: www.saveservices.org