Proposed legislation targets sexual assaults on campus

Proposed legislation would create harsher penalties for students and staff who fail to report cases of sexual assault and stalking on Texas college campuses.

State Senator Kirk Watson proposed five bills this week that address sexual assault on campus. Senator Watson states on his website sexual assault is a crime that happens to an alarming number of people, but very few ever report crimes to law enforcement.

“These bills seek to encourage victims of sexual assault to report without fear of campus or law enforcement authorities penalizing them for minor alcohol related offenses or student conduct code violations that may have occurred ancillary to the incident,” Watson stated.

Sen. Watson’s proposed bills are listed below:

SB 967: Closes several loopholes in the Penal Code’s definition of “consent” for sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault in the following ways:

Establishes that consent is lacking any time the actor knows the other person is incapable of appraising the nature of the act. States that consent is lacking if the actor persists after he/she knows that the other person has withdrawn consent. Removes as a defense the claim that the actor believed the other person consented if a reasonable person should have known or understood that consent was lacking.

SB 970: Requires an affirmative consent standard across all institutions of higher education. Affirmative consent policies are extremely important in cases where the survivor was unconscious, incapacitated or drugged — such as in the case involving the Stanford swimmer that made national headlines last summer — and are important to ensure that these survivors can hold their perpetrators accountable.

SB 966: Protects minors who report sexual assault to health care providers, law enforcement personnel, or Title IX coordinators from being prosecuted for underage possession or consumption of alcohol.

SB 969: Provides amnesty to students who commit a student conduct code violation ancillary to a sexual assault incident if they are a victim of that sexual assault or a reporting witness.

SB 968: Requires institutions to provide an option to students and employees to electronically report an incident of sexual assault, family violence, or stalking. The electronic option must include the option to report anonymously.

Sen. Watson has also co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Joan Huffman, which would implement harsher penalties for those who fail to report sexual assaults. Senate Bill 576 would require any school employee and student leaders to report instances of sexual harassment, sexual assault, family violence and stalking to the campus president within 48 hours. If they fail to do so, they could face a $4,000 fine or up to one year in jail.

At UTEP, officials say students can seek help a number of different people on campus including Title IX coordinators, Office of Student Conduct, UTEP Police and can reach out to faculty and staff about incidents.

One a report is filed, or an incident is made aware to officials, an administrative investigation is launched.

“That involves interviewing witnesses, talking to the folks involved in the incident, anything and everything that helps those folks understand what occurred,” Catie McCory-Andalis, Associate Vice-President of Student Affairs said.

Victims in the case are offered resources and support or combination depending on the situation. They include counseling, or things like a change in class schedule or parking as the investigation unfolds. Investigations typically last anywhere from a few weeks to 60 days, including hearing and the adjudication, which determines if the incident did occur or not.

“That is at the decision and discretion of the individual bringing forth the allegation. The way Title IX works, is as an institution we are required to forward with an administration investigation and look into the situation, whether an individual wants to pursue criminal actions is up to that person. We as an institution will always recommend that anyone go an file with the police department,” McCorry said.

Punishment can vary between cases. It can include anything from service to suspension to expulsion from the university.

“What’s challenging about this is it’s not only about the situation but the impact the situation has had on the individual. That’s also something that has to be taken into account. We may look at something and think that has little to no impact but the reality for the individual it has a lot of impact on them because of their past history or something else that coincides with that,” McCorry said.

McCory tells ABC-7 UTEP trains faculty and staff to find warning signs or differences in students, in case they’re afraid to come forward. She adds they would be reprimanded if they failed to report an incident, in the event that a student came forward.

“If that ever happens, it will be addressed, personnel wise, depending on where that person lands in that area, we’ve been very fortunate we haven’t had those types of situations on campus.”

As for victims, McCorry says it’s important to come forward, so officials can help.

“What’s most important to us is to report it. if we don’t know it’s happening, we can’t help them and we want to help them, the whole community wants to help them.”

In reporting crimes, UTEP has emergency light phones located across campus and inside hallways and elevators. Campus police also monitors different areas of campus 24/7.

UTEP students tell ABC-7 they feel safe on campus, but understand why some students may not feel comfortable with reporting sexual assaults.

“It’s a little more of a sensitive topic, but either way there’s still help available,” Noelle Munoz said.

When asked about the bills proposed by Senator Watson, Munoz said she’s not opposed to implementing stricter penalties, but says she feels UTEP is doing well.

“I don’t know that I feel there’s a need now, just because I haven’t heard about so many cases in the past, but I mean why not have it, if it’s helpful.”