A guide designed to help law enforcement and colleges throughout the state improve their response to individual campus sexual assault cases was unveiled Wednesday in Los Angeles by California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris.
Studies indicate that as many as one in five undergraduate students have been a victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault. In addition, the crime is severely underreported, with 80 percent of campus sexual assaults going unreported to law enforcement. Lack of reporting also impacts public safety, as studies suggest that repeat perpetrators account for nine out of 10 assaults on campus.
"California has some of the best colleges and universities in the world," Harris said. "But for far too many hard-working students, the dream of an education from a top school is upended by sexual violence.
"We must acknowledge these students' value to our future and give them the respect and dignity they deserve as our next leaders," she said. "This model agreement will help break down silos between campuses and law enforcement agencies to provide sexual assault victims with the help they need and hold more perpetrators accountable."
The 31-page Model Memorandum of Understanding -- comprised of a how-to guide and template for law enforcement agencies and institutions of higher learning to improve their coordination, collaboration and transparency in dealing with sexual assault cases on college campuses -- is a "roadmap" for officials to follow, University of California President Janet Napolitano said.
"A primary goal in our efforts at the University of California to prevent and respond to sexual violence and sexual assault has been to make sure law enforcement agencies are more fully engaged with us on this serious issue," the former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security said.
Speaking alongside Harris at a downtown news conference, Napolitano said she didn't know how many sexual assaults have been reported in the 10-campus UC system since she was named president two years ago, but noted that the number has increased.
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UCLA police Chief James D. Herren said he was "very pleased to have a well-thought-out guide suggesting how we can better assist survivors of sexual assaults on our college campuses while also complying with new legal requirements."
He said the how-to manual "gives us steps we can take to connect important resources as we pursue justice and work to eliminate this national problem" and will help "build better rapport between students and officers."
The guide arrives during a new era of accountability for campus sexual assault. For the first time under California law, campuses are required to immediately alert law enforcement when a sexual assault occurs. By July 1, all campuses in the state must have policies in place to ensure that a violent crime, hate crime or sexual assault reported to campus authorities is immediately disclosed to law enforcement.
Harris said the guide would help campuses and law enforcement agencies comply with their new obligations, increase reporting and improve their response to campus sexual assault to seek justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators.
The guide lays out such suggested actions as clarifying the duties of campus authorities and law enforcement agencies following an assault, including who will act as first responder, who will collect and preserve evidence, and how to share necessary information while preserving victim privacy; ensuring that campuses, law enforcement and community-based organizations work together to connect victims to services -- including rape kits -- as soon as possible; and committing to regular training for both the campus and law enforcement communities.
By adopting the practices set out in the agreement, school officials and law enforcement agencies can provide accurate, sensitive and supportive information to students who have been assaulted, including a clear understanding of how to report an incident to authorities and where and how to seek medical assistance, Harris said.
Survivor advocate Savannah Badalich, who was sexually assaulted by another student in her sophomore year at UCLA but did not report the 2012 attack, said she would have told campus authorities if she thought she would have been met by the sort of "trauma-informed approach" recommended by the Memorandum of Understanding.
Badalich, who launched a sexual assault education, advocacy and research campaign called 7,000 in Solidarity, said the primary reasons campus rape is under-reported include "how people are treated" and the fact that victims are asked to repeat details of the attack to numerous people in various settings.
The goal of the guide, Napolitano said, is "to get that survivor to the right place on campus."
