MCASA in the News: Governor Directs Review of Campus Sexual Assault Policies

Current Practices Need Improvement

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore directed the state’s Higher Education Commission to look at how state colleges and universities handle sexual assault. The commission is tasked with developing recommendations that will strengthen sexual misconduct policies and improve reporting. The recommendations are due in ninety days. The directive comes amid national outrage over sexual assault allegations at Cornell University. These terrible events remind us that we need to do more to stop rape on campuses and to support survivors.

In an article for WYPR - 88.1 FM Baltimore, Lisae C. Jordan, executive director and counsel of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, says there is a lot of work that needs to be done to respond to sexual assault on campuses.

"Far too many student survivors face slow and bureaucratic responses when they report sexual misconduct," Jordan said. "After recent changes in the federal Title IX regulations, Maryland also needs to make it very clear that all student organizations -- including all fraternities -- fall under policies to prevent sexual assault and sanction offenders.  Any student-on-student sexual misconduct should be subject to school policies to help survivors and hold offenders accountable, no matter where the assault occurred.  Additionally, our laws should prohibit weak sanctions for serious sexual misconduct and ensure that protecting survivors is a genuine priority."