Campus Sexual Assault--McCaskill Rallies Colleagues' Support for Bipartisan Bill

Press Release

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today testified before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on her legislation to combat sexual assaults on college campuses--a bipartisan effort to protect and empower students, and strengthen accountability and transparency for institutions and law enforcement.

"What we can do is make sure that information now provided to survivors in the military is available to young women and men who are assaulted on college campuses," said McCaskill, a former courtroom prosecutor of sex crimes. "So they know what their choices are at the moment of reporting. So they understand what the consequences are if they decline to go to the hospital, or if they decline to talk to law enforcement, that they are taking on a chance that justice will never truly be obtained in terms of holding their perpetrator accountable. So it's in that framework that we've tried to work out a bill that will strengthen the support services for victims. A victim who is assaulted on a Friday night needs to know, on that Friday night, where she can call and where she can go for confidential support and good information, which we hope gives her the encouragement to make the choice to move forward in the criminal justice system."

McCaskill responded to the recent controversy surrounding Rolling Stone's retraction of a story on an alleged assault at the University of Virginia, saying: "I am saddened and angry about the bad journalism in Rolling Stone concerning an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia. I am saddened and angry because it is a setback for survivors in this country. This is not a crime where you have rampant false reporting or embellishment. This is a crime that is the most underreported crime in America and will remain so. And our problem is not victims coming forward and embellishing, our problem is victims are too frightened to come forward."

In July, McCaskill and a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, to take aim at sexual assaults on college and university campuses by protecting and empowering students, and strengthening accountability and transparency for institutions--including establishing stiff penalties for non-compliance with the legislation's new standards for training, data and best practices.

McCaskill called the legislation, "a truly bipartisan bill… all of us look forward to introducing it and moving it forward toward its passage next year…" and thanked co-sponsor Senator Gillibrand, who also testified, "for her passion and her focus on this issue," saying when united, the two are "a force to be reckoned with."

Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the chairman of the Subcommittee, praised the Senators' efforts on the issue, saying, "Senators McCaskill and Gillibrand have worked tirelessly to shed a light on the scourge of sexual assault on our college campuses and in our military. Senators McCaskill and Heller are lead cosponsors and worked very, very hard, along with Senators Gillibrand and Grassley and others, on legislation that makes comprehensive changes in the area of campus sexual assault. We hope this hearing will help inform their work."

Source