The disturbing statistic was front and center this morning at Saint Peter’s University.
“One in five women in college are sexually assaulted,” Robert Laurino, first assistant prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, said during today’s special seminar on sexual violence on college campuses.
Statistics like this one and personal stories from officials working to quell sexual violence on college campuses brought a message of urgency to today’s conference, “The Campus Accountability and Safety Act: Navigating Compliance Issues and the Challenges of Campus Sexual Assaults.”
Leaders from colleges and universities throughout New Jersey, as well as community leaders, law enforcement and state officials gathered at the Jersey City university to address the issue of on-campus sexual violence.
“The severity of the issue is irrefutable,” Saint Peter’s University President Eugene Cornacchia said during the event, which was presented with CarePoint Health Foundation.
The Campus Accountability and Safety Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the Senate in July, is expected to be signed into law this fall. The bill tackles sexual assaults on college campuses and also requires schools to release data about campus attacks. Colleges and universities that fail to address sexual assaults on their campuses would face stiff financial penalties.
The bill will also create incentives for schools to take proactive steps to protect their students and target sexual predators on their campuses.
Speakers during the conference’s morning session included Vice President of the CarePoint Health Foundation Paula Nevoso, Chief Medical Officer at CarePoint Health Hoboken University Medical Center Meika Roberson, and Michelle Fine, a professor at the CUNY Graduate Center.
CarePoint Health Christ Hospital in Jersey City is the designated sexual assault victim crisis center for Hudson County.
“As a mother of two, I think we have an obligation to keep our students secure,” Nevoso said.
Roberson told the audience a story of a college freshman who was raped by an acquaintance, and had to endure months of roadblocks when trying to find security and justice through her college’s disciplinary system.
“Unfortunately, I have been on the treating side of many rapes,” added Roberson. “It is our goal to create an environment where sexual assault is unacceptable.
Meanwhile, Laurino spoke about the alarming lack of public outcry at the crisis of sexual violence on campus.
“This is an enormous problem that we’re dealing with,” said Laurino. “It’s a public health crisis.”
Laurino also examined the allegations that Jameis Winston, a star football player at Florida State University, raped a woman in January 2012. While Winston was never charged, the story grabbed national headlines.
Meanwhile, Fine hosted a panel on sexual violence with Ruth Anne Koenick, director of the Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance at Rutgers University and La’Shawn Rivera, director of Sexual Violence Response at Columbia University.
“Our culture is not encouraging victims to come forward,” said Fine. “We have a culture of intimidation.”
“It’s happening in our homes, communities, and universities,” she said. “Most of us have experienced sexual violence or have seen it.”
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