A panel of Virginia senators advanced a bill Monday that would require public colleges to report an alleged campus sexual assault to police within 24 hours of notification, defying the wishes of some survivors and their advocates.
On the heels of high-profile cases of rape on college campuses, many victims' advocates worried that in their zeal to punish perpetrators, lawmakers might take away victims' rights when they are most vulnerable — and cause a chilling effect on reporting.
The move is one of the first indications of how the Virginia General Assembly might act at a time when a scandal at the University of Virginia prompted by a discredited Rolling Stone article and federal investigationsinto rape on college campuses have put this issue front and center.
Under the mandatory reporting bill, any faculty member, administrator or full-time staff member of a public college or university would face a misdemeanor charge for failing to report an alleged sexual assault to police. Crisis center counselors would be exempt from the requirement.
Read more at The Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/va-senate-panel-advances-mandatory-reporting-bill-for-campus-sexual-assault/2015/01/26/6154700c-a56a-11e4-a2b2-776095f393b2_story.html