WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release). – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) on Monday, May 5, sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, urging him to quickly finalize and release regulations that will provide clear guidance to universities on how to address sexual assault on campus.
A recent report issued by the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault highlighted the fact that female college students have a one-in-five chance of becoming a victim of sexual assault, while male college students have a greater than one-in-twenty chance of being sexually assaulted. “As the report illustrates, sexual assault on our nation’s campuses is an epidemic that we must address immediately,”Senator Boxer wrote in the letter.
In early 2013, President Obama signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act, a measure to ensure that colleges and universities have clear policies and procedures to address and prevent sexual assault and to help survivors, as part of the Violence Against Women Act reauthorized by Congress.
The Department of Education recently concluded in-depth negotiations with stakeholders in the fight against campus sexual assault – universities, law enforcement officials and campus safety advocates – on the implementation of the Campus SaVE Act.
Senator Boxer continued, “Now that these discussions have been completed, I urge you to move quickly to finalize the regulations so we can provide clear guidance to universities on how to address sexual assault. Any delay in providing this guidance could be a setback to efforts to protect students and end this epidemic on our campuses. I look forward to hearing from you as to the timeline you have established.”
The full text of the letter follows:
May 5, 2014
The Honorable Arne Duncan
Secretary
United States Department of Education
400 Maryland Ave, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Secretary Duncan:
Thank you for your work on the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault and the report it released earlier this week. As the report illustrates, sexual assault on our nation’s campuses is an epidemic that we must address immediately.
Female college students face a one-in-five chance of being sexually assaulted, and male students have a greater than one-in-twenty chance of being sexually assaulted. To ensure that colleges and universities have clear policies and procedures in place to prevent and address sexual assault and to help survivors, Congress passed and the President signed the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act in early 2013 as part of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
As you know, the Department of Education recently concluded in-depth negotiations with universities, law enforcement officials and campus safety advocates on implementing the Campus SaVE Act. Now that these discussions have been completed, I urge you to move quickly to finalize the regulations, so we can provide clear guidance to universities on how to address sexual assault. Any delay in providing this guidance could be a setback to efforts to protect students and end this epidemic on our campuses.
I look forward to hearing from you as to the timeline you have established.
Best Regards,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
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Preceding provided by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer