Last week, U.S. Senators Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY) and John Thune (R-SD) called for a review of how the Air Force Academy handles sexual assault cases, citing concerns about "very serious allegations of wrongdoing." The two lawmakers asked the U.S. Office of Special Counsel to investigate claims that the academy retaliated against a sergeant and a cadet informant who was assigned to help him investigate drug use and sexual assault among football players, The New York Times reported.
The Air Force inspector general conducted an inquiry into some of the allegations this spring, but a lawyer representing the sergeant said the final report on the investigation omitted crucial facts.
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) sent a letter this week to California higher education leaders asking them to voluntarily carry out the provisions of a bill she introduced last month aimed at preventing sexual assault on college campuses, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.
The Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act, introduced by Sen. Boxer and U.S. Representative Susan Davis (D-CA), would require all federally funded colleges to appoint a victim's advocate charged with supporting survivors of campus sexual assault in a myriad of ways. The University of California system has endorsed the legislation.
Sen. Boxer's bill was one of a handful dealing with campus sexual assault that was introduced by lawmakers leading up to their August recess.
Related Links
The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/senators-urge-review-in-handling-of-air-force-academy-sex-assault-cases.html?_r=0
U.S. Senators Kirsten E. Gillibrand and John Thune’s Letter to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1277553/letter-from-senator-kirsten-gillibrand.pdf
The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/u-s-senator-asks-california-colleges-to-voluntarily-adopt-her-sex-assault-bill/84733