S.B. 19, An Act Concerning Sexual Misconduct on College Campuses

The ACLU-CT supports meaningful reform aimed at holding educational institutions accountable when they fail to respond to gender-based violence and at empowering people who have experienced sexual assault or intimate partner violence. Our state’s educational institutions must do more to stop sexual violence, which disproportionately harms women and LGBTQ people. Sexual and gender-based violence constitutes discrimination under Title IX. Sexual assault and intimate partner violence devalue women’s and LGBTQ people’s lives and can deprive a person of equal and free access to an education, and full participation in college campus activities. We therefore support the provisions of Senate Bill 19 which protect students and employees who, in good faith, report sexual assaults and intimate partner violence. We also support the provision in Senate Bill 19 to establish a Council on Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey. Studying the problems with sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence on higher education campuses will provide deeper knowledge of the contours of these persistent problems. More knowledge, especially coming from people with direct, lived experience, will help shape better solutions in the future. We therefore encourage the legislature to support Senate Bill 19.