Feminist Groups Oppose FratPAC Bill (r-bill makes it harder to deal with sexual assault on campus)
(and yet, we are told that there is NO war on women!)
Feminist Groups Oppose FratPAC Bill
Feminist groups, student activists, and survivor advocates announced their opposition to the proposed Safe Campus Act of 2015, also known as the “FratPAC bill,” at a House subcommittee hearing on “Preventing and Responding to Sexual Assault on College Campuses” earlier this month.
The bill, backed by the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee (FratPAC), is sponsored by Representatives Matt Salmon (R-AZ), Kay Granger (R-TX), and Pete Sessions (R-TX). The bill would make it more difficult for colleges and universities to address campus sexual assault by requiring survivors to report incidents of sexual assault to a law enforcement agency before a school could investigate sexual assault allegations. Even then, schools could not institute disciplinary proceedings against an alleged attacker until the law enforcement agency completes its investigation, a process that could take several months and sometimes years.
“This measure is designed to drastically reduce the ability of schools to respond to sexual violence allegations at all,” said Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) President Eleanor Smeal and FMF Director of Policy & Research Gaylynn Burroughs in a statement submitted to the subcommittee. “Blocking a school from fully addressing sexual violence complaints is . . . not only misguided, it undermines the intent and purpose of Title IX.”
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Instead of using an approach that disempowers survivors and prevents schools from protecting the safety and rights of their students, Maatz advocated for adoption of the Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act (SOS Campus Act), sponsored by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA). Under the SOS Campus Act, “Schools would establish an independent, on-campus advocate to support survivors of sexual assault. Advocates would connect survivors with resources including emergency and follow-up medical and counseling care, how to report to law enforcement if they so choose, and information about legal rights on campus and off.”
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http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/09/21/feminist-groups-oppose-fratpac-bill/
more coverage on the insanity of this group at huffpo:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/fratpac/