WASHINGTON – Former sex crimes prosecutor and U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today applauded the policy recommendations of the White House Task Force on Protecting Students from Sexual Assault, a new initiative from the White House Council on Women and Girls to help make college campuses safer for America’s students.
“Everybody needs to be all-in on this fight, and the White House has shown great leadership in putting this together.” said McCaskill, who helped lead the recent successful effort dramatically reforming the military justice system. “These recommendations are strong-they will be a critical part of our efforts moving forward, and I look forward to working closely with the White House on legislation to better protect our students and ensure perpetrators aren’t getting a free pass. Because no young person suffering the results of a crime as personal and traumatic as sexual assault should feel like they’re on their own.”
McCaskill-who will attend today’s White House ceremony announcing the recommendations-recently launched a massive survey, the first congressional inquiry of its kind, of colleges and universities to learn exactly how schools handle rapes and sexual assaults on campuses-specifically focusing on how such crimes are reported and investigated and how students are notified about available services. The survey will gauge the effectiveness of federal oversight and enforcement under Title IX federal civil rights law and the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, commonly known as the Clery Act. McCaskill is surveying colleges and universities nationwide that represent different types of institution (public, private non-profit, and private for-profit) and vary in size.
The White House Task Force has established Notalone.gov, which will provide resources to students including access to a list of their rights, how to file a complaint, learn about enforcement data, and find mental-health services in their area. The Task Force’s recommendations (available online HERE) also include urging colleges to conduct anonymous campus climate surveys to learn more about sexual assault cases on their campuses, offer sexual assault training for school administrators, and help schools respond effectively when a student reports an assault.
McCaskill has requested from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan specific information and data, including how the federal government oversees reporting by colleges and universities, written guidance provided to colleges and universities and local law enforcement, information on any training provided to colleges and universities, enforcement actions by the federal government, and data on how many sexual assault cases are adjudicated administratively by universities versus how many are prosecuted in the local criminal justice system.