Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Lawmakers vote to require better responses by CT colleges to sexual assaults

  • Education
  • by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
  • April 10, 2014
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"
On Jan. 30, women legislators stood together to announce the changes they wanted in law to improve college responses to sexual assaults.

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas / The CT Mirror

On Jan. 30, women legislators stood together to announce the changes they wanted in law to improve college responses to sexual assaults.

The state House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would ensure that colleges and universities provide free counseling services when a student reports she has been sexually assaulted, regardless of where the incident took place.

“As far as I am concerned, it doesn’t matter where it took place if a student is involved,” Rep. Roberta Willis, House chairwoman of the legislature’s Higher Education Committee, said during an interview after the chamber unanimously adopted the bill.

The bill, expected to be approved by the Senate, also requires both public and private colleges and universities to take a number of new steps to ensure student safety on campus. The schools must:

  • Provide annual prevention and awareness programs for all students and higher education employees;
  • Give “concise notification, written in plain language” of students’ rights to seek disciplinary action against their perpetrator and of the free health and counseling services available to them;
  • Sign agreements with a community-based sexual assault crisis service and a domestic violence agency so students can access help for free, either on or off campus;
  • Educate campus police, other first responders and safety personnel on how to respond when a student makes an allegation of sexual assault or domestic violence;
  • Give the legislature an annual report of its sexual assault policies, the number and type of risk reduction programs taking place for students and staff, the number of incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking, the number of disciplinary cases at the institution related to sexual assault and the final outcomes of those cases.

The legislation, co-sponsored by every woman legislator in the General Assembly, responds to a federal lawsuit and complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education by a group of current and past students at the state’s flagship campus last fall. The students alleged that the university had shown “deliberate indifference” when they came forward to say they had been sexually assaulted or harassed. Two of those UConn students had been assaulted off-campus.

“We also have this piece of legislation before us today because of the brave current and former students at the University of Connecticut who came forward last fall and told their stories,” Rep. Mae Flexer, a Danielson Democrat and UConn graduate, said on the House floor before the vote. “I want to thank them for bringing this issue to the forefront once again and helping us get to this day in the House of Representatives.”

Over the past five years, 7,166 complaints from college students across the country have been filed with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights about how a  college or university handled sexual harassment, violence and other sex discrimination issues. Just five of those complaints were made by UConn students, including the most recent, which has drawn so much attention to UConn’s policy and its treatment of assault victims.

A spokesman for UConn said school officials “fully support” the legislation.

“We share the commitment shown by the Connecticut legislature to address the critical issue of sexual violence on college campuses in the state of Connecticut. Sexual assault needs to be confronted directly as we collectively work to prevent this crime from taking place and to provide victims with the resources they need,” Tom Breen wrote in an emailed statement.

The House bill seeks to improve how all higher education institutions in Connecticut respond when a student comes forward, and to boost prevention through bystander training akin to the “see something, say something” campaign.

Willis said she expects the number of people coming forward and to report being assaulted will go up if this bill becomes law.

“Hopefully we’ll see an increase because students will know there will be a compassionate response and appropriate disciplinary action” against the perpetrator, Willis said.

Willis said the stories she’s heard from students at schools across the state about how their cases were handled by university staff was deplorable, leaving legislators with a clear picture that something needed to change.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said he has not yet decided whether he supports the legislation.

“As a parent and someone whose wife spent years working with victims of sexual assault, the Governor has been an outspoken advocate of sexual assault prevention and response procedures. As with any bill at this stage, the Governor will continue to monitor its progress as it goes through the legislative process,” said Samaia M. Hernandez.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas is CT Mirror’s Education and Housing Reporter and an original member of the CT Mirror staff. She has won first-place awards for investigative reporting from state, New England, and national organizations. Before joining CT Mirror in late 2009, Jacqueline was a reporter, online editor and website developer for The Washington Post Co.’s Maryland newspaper chains. She has also worked for Congressional Quarterly and the Toledo Free Press. Jacqueline received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University and a master’s in public policy from Trinity College.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
State launches database showing FAFSA financial aid form completion rate
by Adria Watson

The FAFSA form is critical for students who might receive financial aid for college.

Superintendents association calls on state to increase funding for CT schools
by Adria Watson and Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

A coalition of superintendents is asking for a 2.5% annual increase in state spending for public schools.

Some states train jobless for post-pandemic workforce
by Sophie Quinton | Stateline

Amid high unemployment, governments are spending coronavirus relief dollars on training programs to help workers find new jobs quickly.

For CT teachers, Washington riot becomes a teaching tool
by Adria Watson

After David Bosso saw news of the riot in Washington, D.C., unfold Wednesday, he started thinking about how he would approach the issue with the students in his high school social studies class Thursday. “One of the things we want to do is get them ready for the world,” he said. “This is something that […]

COVID-19 pandemic introduces new factors to CT’s teacher shortage
by Adria Watson

The pandemic has complicated Connecticut's teacher shortage as sick educators have been forced to quarantine.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Evidence not clear that Trump incited Capitol destruction
by Alan Calandro

Defending President Donald Trump is not popular and I have no interest in writing this other than adherence to truth. Recognizing the truth (if we can find it, which is not always possible of course) should make us be able to come together around that and move on with a common understanding.

Opinion Securing our nuclear legacy: An open letter to President-elect Joe Biden
by Erik Assadourian

Dear President-elect Biden: As you noted in a tweet shortly after protestors stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, “Today is a reminder, a painful one, that democracy is fragile.” Indeed it is. And so are nation-states.

Opinion Last votes of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others
by Gary A. Franks

Finally, the election season is over. The historic elections we saw in this cycle were intriguing. The runoff elections for the U.S. Senate in Georgia put a cap on the campaign season. For many people this could be described as a COVID-19 election. I would argue that this was an election influenced by a pandemic but determined by the killing of unarmed Black people with no adequate justice for the Black community.

Opinion Not just environmental problem; Killingly plant is a great target
by Joel Gordes

In 1990, I was one of five legislators to introduce the first climate change legislation that became PA 90-219, An Act Considering Climate Change, the most popular bill of that session. Back then I considered climate change a national security issue… and I still do.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO