By Jaclyn Weiner
New York recently changed statewide sexual assault laws on college campuses. Courtesy of Flickr.
Since the introduction of the most recent New York state sexual assault policies, the number of reported offenses has risen exponentially. CBS New York reported that the number of schools that are under federal investigation for handling sexual assault has increased from four to 25. Since the Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence opened in 2014 at SUNY Albany, the number of alleged victims seeking support increased from 23 to 150.
Many experts have said that this increase is due to more victims reporting sexual assault, rather than an increase in sexual assaults on college campuses. So far, New York’s new sexual assault policies seem to be benefiting victims positively by encouraging victims to come forward and continuing to support them.
In July, 2015, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed “Enough is Enough,” a sexual assault policy for public universities in New York into law. The law provides a universal definition of consent and incorporates a “yes means yes” policy, as opposed to promoting the common “no means no” adage.
It defines what is regarded as affirmative consent and what is not, including silence and lack of resistance. The increase in the number of reported sexual assaults is a clear victory for these laws in their infancy.
In response to this current success, efforts need to be made to push legislation of a similar nature to a national level.
Bills defining affirmative consent have been introduced in 16 states, but only passed in California, Illinois and New York, according to a National Association of Students Personal Administrators (NASPA) and Education Commission of the States (ECS) report. A few state legislations are still pending, but many affirmative consent policy legislations have died.
While it is a positive sign that sexual assault policies have been brought forth, it is troubling that a considerable amount of those legislations have been rejected or have died in Congress.
In addition, it is concerning that there are so many differences between sexual assault policies on college campuses across the country. Consent laws and consent definitions cannot differ between states if they are ever to be understood and taken seriously.
Under the New York legislation, alleged victims and bystanders are protected by a policy that provides amnesty for violating an institution’s drug and alcohol policy. Additionally, the law allows for confidentiality disclosure. It requires campuses to conduct assessments and ongoing student education, report aggregate data and information about reports and protect the privacy of reporting individuals.
It establishes and funds new Sexual Victims Units within the Division of State Police, appropriates $4.5 million to rape crisis centers and one million dollars for college campuses to support training and other expenses related to this legislation.
Annual reports and increased funding demonstrate that New York is capable of fixing flawed sexual assault policies that plague schools across the country. Annual reports can also help identify where policies need to be changed and how we can further help deter sexual assault from occurring.
Proper education further teaches students to identify the “blurry” line between consensual sex and rape. These new policies can help change this attitude surrounding sexual assault.
Other states should look towards New York and make similar policy changes in order to make schools safer for students.
Jaclyn Weiner, FCRH’18, is a communication and media studies major from Wantagh, New York.
