April 18, 2017
Gov. Tom Wolf is urging Pennsylvania lawmakers this week to step up efforts to curb actions of sexual violence on college campuses in the state.
On Tuesday, Wolf introduced a package of bills aimed at further addressing the nationwide epidemic of sexual assault by protecting students and serving victims. Last year, the governor implemented the "It's On Us PA" campaign, a state-focused program to bolster President Barack Obama's national initiative launched in 2014.
The six pieces of legislation that were presented "strengthen the systems we currently have, and create better standards for reporting," Wolf asserted.
The proposed policy was influenced by input from students, educators, administrators, advocates and more. Each group was able to recommend guidelines that would help end sexual violence on campus.
“It is critically important that we continue the progress we’ve already made, and continue our work to ensure that our k-12 and postsecondary institutions have the tools they need to combat sexual assault,” Wolf said.
Here's what the six items of legislation entail:
• Expand the scope, authority, and capacity of Department of Education's Office for Safe Schools to support both K-12 and postsecondary institutions, as well as monitor compliance with existing federal and state requirements related to sexual violence prevention and response.
• Publish an annual report card on sexual violence and harassment in K-12 and postsecondary institutions using existing data reported to the Department and/or other publicly reported data.
• Amend Pa. School Code to create a consolidated, comprehensive anti-violence and anti-harassment policy for K-12 schools that aligns requirements related to bullying, hazing, sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, and other issues.
• Require postsecondary institutions adopt affirmative consent standards for responding to allegations of sexual violence, and expand K-12 health education standards to explicitly address areas of consent and healthy relationships in middle and high school.
• Require that postsecondary institutions offer online, anonymous reporting options for students as part of their required reporting and response systems under federal and state law.
• Establish amnesty policies protecting students who report sexual assault to postsecondary institutions from being disciplined for other policy violations, such as drug and alcohol use.
“I am ready to get to work to pass this package of legislation, and to ensure that the state is investing our money as effectively as possible, and I believe that there is no better investment than the safety and security of our young people,” Wolf said.
We cannot allow sexual assault in Pennsylvania to continue, and we will no longer tolerate its existence in our educational institutions. pic.twitter.com/GsyaxsUlv1
— Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) April 18, 2017
In Philly, universities and colleges have enacted campus programs to help deal with the issue. In February, Temple launched a 24-hour crisis center offering support services for victims of sexual violence. Three months earlier, the University of Pennsylvania created a task force to prevent sexual assaults in the wake of a campus protest on the school's perceived indifference to "rape culture."
Last year, Wolf awarded nearly $1 million in grants to 36 state institutions - including Drexel and Temple - to develop strategies to combat sexual assaults on campus.
The bills must be approved by the state's General Assembly in order to become law.
