Sexual violence a bipartisan problem

Political divisions have never been more polarized in America, but one issue should not be controversial: sexual violence. Throughout the United States, the epidemic of sexual assault has been growing so rapidly that approximately every 73 seconds there is a new person we can call a survivor. This transcends party lines. There is a high chance that someone you know is a survivor of sexual violence. Americans ages 18 to 34, like myself, are facing more than half of the brunt of this epidemic, jeopardizing their futures and our own.

Sexual violence is particularly prevalent on college campuses. Sexual violence far surpasses all crimes committed on college campuses, but only

20 percent of survivors report it. Students, specifically women, people of color and LGBTQ+ students, risk their mental well-being by living in this relatively unsupervised environment. College campuses are breeding grounds for sexual violence, making college not just a place for academic stimulation and finding forever friends, but a perfect venue to learn to survive with the constant threat of violation.

Six years ago, the Every Voice Coalition began protesting this injustice, and last year, a new chapter in Connecticut joined the fight to protect survivors of sexual violence on our state’s college campuses.

We at Every Voice are a bipartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization of students working to pass studentwritten legislation to protect our peers from sexual violence. The first step in this pursuit is to file legislation that will require colleges to instate policies for the gathering of statistics. Hence, the Every Voice Bill was born.

The Every Voice Bill was introduced in February 2020 and includes two efforts to increase reporting of sexual violence on college campuses: consistently administered campus climate surveys and a statewide amnesty policy. The survey would allow students to report violence anonymously while giving statistics of sexual violence on campus. Should the survivor wish to pursue a legal investigation, the amnesty policy would protect them if they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

This common-sense bill passed through the Joint Committee on Higher Education in February 2020 and was on track for passage before CO

VID-19. Though we were hopeful that the overwhelming support from legislators of each party would be enough to guarantee a review in the second special session, the bill did not pass. The implications of the inaction regarding sexual assault on college campuses is dire, and the lack of priority on this issue is frightening.

It is high time we make a change. Another “Red Zone,” the period in which the most sexual assaults on college campuses occur, has just passed. According to the Clery Act, in

2018 there were 436 reported cases of

We at Every Voice are a bipartisan, nonprofit, grassroots organization of students working to pass student-written legislation to protect our peers from sexual violence. The first step in this pursuit is to file legislation that will require colleges to instate policies for the gathering of statistics. Hence, the Every Voice Bill was born.

sexual violence on college campuses in Connecticut, but the ACLU estimates only 5 percent of survivors of sexual violence on campus chose to report it to university officials. In Connecticut, students who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs during their assault can still be penalized.

Without reliable information, colleges, community leaders and students remain ill-equipped in facing the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses. This bill could change that entirely.

Pushing this aside any longer will have physical and mental repercussions for Connecticut’s students. Survivors face a higher risk for post traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, substance abuse and suicide. No person should feel so hopeless from something they could not prevent in a place where they were supposed to be protected.

Not passing this bill would mean more women fearing walking home alone in the dark. It would continue to allow a greater risk for Black people, who already experience discrimination when pursuing higher education. LGBTQ+ people will persistently feel alone and unsafe at school. Any combination of marginalization will increase the likelihood of experiencing sexual violence, and no one deserves to feel like they have a target on their back.

By not passing the Every Voice Bill, we enable perpetrators of sexual violence to continue waging sexual warfare on young bodies.

We know Connecticut does not stand for this, however, only action can cement commitment to protect students and challenge violence. This bipartisan, common-sense bill will allow us to help survivors even more in the future. Our state legislature has a duty to protect its citizens. In matters such as sexual violence, it is imperative that they do so now.

We thank our supporters in and out of Connecticut legislature for joining us. Legislators, we urge you to continue showing outward support for our cause. If this is the first time you are hearing of us, call your legislator and express the bill’s importance. Students in Connecticut, we are fighting for you — please email Every Voice, call your legislators, and follow us to keep updated with our actions.

Let’s get to work.