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Rape
Prevention on College Campuses
On October 7, 1998, President Clinton signed into law a Higher Education
Bill (HR6) containing extensive campus security related provisions. The
new federal law expands the disclosure of campus crime statistics.
This requires institutions of higher education
receiving federal money to compile, publish, and distribute an annual
report relative to criminal offenses that are reported on campus. Sexual
offenses are included in these criminal offenses.
Criminal sexual
offenses are defined as:
- Forcible rape
- Forcible sodomy
- Sexual assault with an object
- Incest
- Carnal knowledge
- Forcible fondling
The U.S. Department of Education gathers all
disclosures for an Annual National Campus Survey compilation, which must
be: 1) available to prospective students and employees, 2) sent with admission
information (whether requested or not), and 3) and distributed to students,
faculty, and staff.
The definition of
“campus covered by campus security and statistics” includes:
- Campus property (Facilities, food courts,
libraries)
- Public property located within the same
reasonable geographic area (sidewalks next to academic buildings, parking
facilities used by the college)
- Crimes in non-campus buildings or property
owned by a student organization recognized by the college (fraternity
or sorority houses)
- Residential facilities for students
- Nearby facilities used by the college to
support educational purposes
Four
categories of statistics are disclosed:
- On Campus
- Non Campus
- Public Property
- Student Residential Facilities
Colleges Must: |
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- Create educational programs to promote awareness
of rape, acquaintance and date rape and other sex offenses.
- Maintain public police logs of all rapes
and other sex offenses, both forcible and non-forcible, which are available
within two business days, to the public.
- Develop and distribute procedures students
are to follow if a sexual offense occurs including: whom should be contacted,
to whom the alleged offense should be reported, and the importance of
preserving evidence, which may be necessary for criminal prosecution.
- Having a policy on notifying "parents,
guardians, and local police agencies about students reported missing".
They must also disclose their policy for investigating reports of missing
students and for cooperating with local police in such cases.
- Have a policy concerning their dissemination
of information received from the state on registered sex offenders either
enrolled in or employed by the school. The policy would be made to students
and employees in a manner consistent with the reporting program of the
state in which the school is located. A school would only be obligated
to make registry information available if it is provided by the state,
and would not be obligated to provide it to parents or others outside
the immediate campus community.
Students Must:
- Be notified of the rights of the accuser
and the accused, known as the Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights.
- Have the same opportunity (accuser and accused)
to have others present during a campus disciplinary proceeding.
- Be informed (both parties) of the outcome
of the disciplinary proceeding.
- Inform victims of their options to notify,
and to be assisted by campus authorities to notify law enforcement authorities.
- Be notified of existing counseling, medical
and student services for victims of sexual assault, both on campus and
in the community.
- Be notified of options for changing academic
and/or living situations after an alleged incident, if reasonably possible
to do so and if the victim requests it.
**Text is used
with permission of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Original text can be found at http://www.nccasa.org/Projects/Campus/campus_consortium.html
**
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