The University of Virginia is still the focus of controversy stirred up by the disputed Rolling Stone article which alleged a gang rape at a UVA fraternity. Multiple bills have been introduced in the state legislature requiring mandatory reporting of all sexual assault complaints to law enforcement authorities. Most states have some form of mandatory reporting for suspected cases of child abuse, but the idea of introducing it for complaints from adult women is new. This move is being supported by people who oppose the move by the US Dept. of Education to hold colleges and universities responsible for conducting sexual assault investigations.
Virginia considering mandatory reporting in wake of Rolling Stone rape article
The state legislature already has three bills before it that would radically change the way the reporting of such allegations are processed. A fourth bill is pending in the state’s House of Delegates.
The common theme between the various pieces of proposed legislation is mandatory reporting of all allegations to police. Senate Bill 734, for instance, which has been sponsored by the Democratic leader of the state Senate, Richard Saslaw, would require “any administrator or professor employed by a public institution of higher education who through the course of his employment obtains information alleging that a criminal sexual assault has occurred to report within 24 hours such information to law enforcement.” Any campus employee who fails to do so would be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
A bill pending in the state House would similarly impose mandatory reporting on all college personnel who would be obliged to inform police of any violent felony alleged by a student. The Republican sponsor of that bill, Rob Bell, who is himself an alumnus of UVA, as well as a former prosecutor, told the Guardian that he was trying to address a basic question.
“If a public employee is told about a sexual assault, what should their obligations be in terms of reporting it? There’s a consensus developing that, at least for violent felonies, it is best handled by the professionals of the law enforcement community who do this as their day job,” he said.
The article goes on to quote several women who are advocates for rape victims. There is a consistent theme of opposition to such legislation. Feminists have long been critical of the way that the criminal justice system handles sexual assault complaints. They see victims who make complaints to law enforcement as being subjected to a grueling and stressful process of investigation with a low probability that it will result in actual prosecution and conviction. The confidential surveys of rape victims indicate that a substantial majority of them never report sexual assault. Victim advocates are concerned that mandatory reporting would make them even more reluctant to seek assistance. On the other side of the issue advocates for men's rights oppose administrative proceedings conducted by colleges that provide a lower standard for due process rights for the accused than would happen in a criminal trial.
This is a controversy that isn't going to be resolved anytime soon.