The 12-member panel will include representatives from colleges, law enforcement and the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, among others.
TRENTON -- New Jersey is creating a task force to investigate methods of preventing sexual assault on college campuses and improving how schools respond to reported incidents.
The 12-member panel, created through legislation signed by Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday, is charged with evaluating current policies and practices at New Jersey college and universities as well as hearing testimony from sexual assault survivors and advocates for victims.
It will be asked to make recommendations about sexual assault prevention and protocols for responding to reports of campus sexual assault and providing victim support services.
The task force will include representatives from colleges, law enforcement and the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, among others.
http://www.nj.com/education/2015/09/rutgers_report_sexual_violence_starts_before_colle.html
The Democratic sponsors of the bill (A4156) said they introduced it because they were disheartened by the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses and the low percentage of assaults that are reported.
A recent study by Rutgers University, the state's largest college, found that one in five female students reported unwanted sexual contact in their time at Rutgers, a similar rate to students at other schools, according to the university.
However, the study also found that problems begin before students ever step foot on campus. Nearly a quarter of female students surveyed by Rutgers said they were the victims of 'sexual violence,' including persistent sexual advances or unwanted remarks about their physical appearance, before college.
Appointments to the task force are to be made within 30 says, and it's final report is due within a year, according to the new law.
"If we want victims of sexual assault to report these crimes and prevent others from becoming another statistic, then we have to change the culture that is discouraging victims, whether intentionally or inadvertently, from speaking up and seeking justice," said Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden), one of the bill's sponsors.
Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
