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Enough is Enough: Campus Sexual Assualt Prevention Legislation on Its way to Becoming Law

New York State is taking action to prevent sexual assaults on all public and private college campuses. After months of deliberation, state law-makers announced they reached an agreement to pass the “Enough is Enough”legislation designed to protect and empower victims of sexual assault. 

The legislation gives immunity to sexual assault victims for certain campus policy violations and encourages them to speak up. The law also ensures that all college students will be informed of their rights to seek law enforcement outside of their campuses.  Victim Advocate at Vera HouseMeaghan Greeley was a victim of rape in high school and a sexual assault in college. She says awareness building and education trainings are automatic when colleges change their policies. 

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WAER News
Vera House victim advocate Meaghan Greeley is in support of the new legislation

“Having that peace then in my opinion will  eliminate some of the other stories we hear about the victims and survivors not being offered the proper services or not being supported. If we empower colleges and universities to know their role and to know what they need to do to respond appropriately, then hopefully when there is a victim or survivor they are then empowered too.”

Vera House Director Randi Bregman says that if a student is victimized, the law will support their decision to go to outside law enforcement or not.

“ For many survivors they do not want to enter the criminal justice system for all the reasons we know: it’s scary, it puts them in a long term process with an uncertain outcome and  it’s stressful. I am a big believer that “victim center” means that we have to allow victims the choice.”

Bregman adds she also believes in fairness for those accused of crimes and says the new legislation also ensures there are options for appeals.

Since the legislation was first announced by Governor Cuomo in January, Syracuse University  has hosted events on its campus in support of the legislation. In March, Governor Cuomo visited the university in a press conference to promote the "Enough is Enough" campaign.

The legislation was held up for months as party officials negotiated over the definition of affirmative consent also known as the "yes means yes" provision. The legislation defines affirmative consent as "a knowing, voluntary and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity."

A SUMMARY OF THE LEGISLATION IS DETAILED BELOW:

· A statewide definition of affirmative consent, defining consent as a knowing, voluntary, and mutual decision among all participants to engage in sexual activity;

· A statewide amnesty policy, to ensure that students reporting incidents of sexual assault or other sexual violence are granted immunity for certain campus policy violations, such as drug and alcohol use;

· A Students’ Bill of Rights, which campuses will be required to distribute to all students in order to specifically inform sexual violence victims of their legal rights and how they may access appropriate resources. The Bill of Rights clearly states that students are given the right to know they can report sexual assaults to outside law enforcement, including the State Police;

· Comprehensive training requirements for administrators, staff, and students, including at new student orientations.;

· Reporting requirements for campuses to annually submit aggregate data on reported incidents of sexual violence and their adjudication and handling to the State Education Department; 

· A new unit within the State Police called the “sexual assault victims unit” specialized in advanced training in responding to sexual assaults and related crimes that shall also provide assistance to campus police or local law enforcement, as well as training to college campus communities;

· A commitment of $10 million to help combat campus sexual assault through various partners, split in the following manner: $4.5 million to rape crisis centers to provide services and resources to students, $4.5 million to the State Police to create sexual assault victims unit, and $1 million to colleges and universities; and

· A requirement for first responders to notify survivors of their right to contact outside law enforcement.

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.