Sen. Casey Calls For Sexual Assault Prevention At Conference
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – It's a problem at colleges and universities across the country.
A disturbing number of female students will be victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault this year.
Now, Sen. Bob Casey is calling for action on campuses.
All around the region, college students are moving in and gearing up for the school year.
While the focus should be on getting settled and classes, for some, that isn't quite the case.
According the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 20 to 25 percent of college women are victims of forced sex during their time in college.
The same applies to 15 percent of men.
"It's alarming to me as a parent and the father of four daughters but even if I were not, it's disturbing. It's outrageous," Sen. Casey said.
Sen. Casey, addressed the topic of campus sexual assault at the National Sexual Assault Conference being held at the Wyndham Grand Hotel downtown..
Sen. Casey is the author of the Campus Save Act, which requires schools to spell out their policies regarding sexual assault.
"It tells colleges and universities a lot of what they shouldn't have to be told. Things that they should be doing already, clear statements of policy, clear statements of procedures, letting women and men, not just making them aware of their rights, but making sure that the prevention is everyone's responsibility," Sen. Casey said.
The conference isn't just about sexual assault on campuses, but about the issue in general.
The stats are alarming to the least.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that in the United States, 1-in-5 women and 1-in-71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.
Rape is the most underreported crime as 63-percent of sexual assaults are not reported to police.
"Long ago maybe, people wanted to sweep this under the rug. We have to confront people, we have to prosecute them and punish them severely, but we also have to do much more on the preventative side," Sen. Casey said.
More than 1,000 people are taking part in this year's conference.
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