Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) led a roundtable discussion with police, counselors and medical staff on Wednesday to brainstorm ways to help educate students about sexual assault and to better handle reported cases.
The roundtable took place at the State University of New York (SUNY) campus in Fredonia, N.Y. and sought ways to improve resources related to dealing with sexual assault cases.
“The statistics on sexual assault in our country are troubling, particularly on college campuses where we send our sons and daughters with the expectation that they will be cared for and free from the horrors of sexual assault,” Reed said.
Reed said that one in five women on college campuses in the United States experience sexual assault before they graduate.
“We went to work today to brainstorm how to start reversing that trend and make college campuses safer,” Reed said. “If we start the conversation with students earlier in their education about
appropriate relationships, we have the potential to reverse the trend we’re seeing currently.”
The group highlighted the need to talk to students about appropriate sexual relationships in middle school rather than waiting until high school or college to do so.
“What we need to do is create a nationwide awareness campaign to generate a complete cultural shift to send the message that sexual assault in any form is one hundred percent unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Reed said. “The conversations about what is appropriate behavior in relationships need to start at a much younger age and needs to be directed at both genders.”
Reed recently signed on as an original co-sponsor of the the Campus Accountability and Safety Act. The measure would take steps to ensure accountability and responsiveness in dealing with reported sexual assault cases at colleges.