New York, NY -- Today, Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan), sponsor of the landmark Child Victims Act and the Adult Survivors Act, announced introduction of her legislation (awaiting bill number) that would expand reporting requirements for sexual assault on college campuses. This new legislation expands New York’s Enough is Enough Law, a 2015 measure that required all college campuses to establish comprehensive policies to prevent sexual assault.

The bill, which she introduced in response to the horrific gang rape allegations on Cornell University’s campus, would direct institutions to conduct annual campus climate assessments; those assessments would have to include data on the number of assaults reported each year, to whom those reports are made, as well as information on the outcomes of such reports, including data on whether law enforcement pursued charges against the alleged abuser.

“Women in New York and across the country are sick and tired of justifying their right to physical safety,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan). “What happened on Cornell’s campus is not only a miscarriage of justice and a failure of our institutions, but it is a visceral reminder that sexual violence is the norm, not the exception, for many college-aged women. Our institutions must be held to a different standard, and my bill achieves that.” 

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, approximately one in four undergraduate women experience non-consensual sexual contact after enrolling in school. Studies show that one's freshman year of college, especially the first few months of school, are considered a “red zone,” or high risk period for women students.

"Being sexually violated should never be the price one pays for wearing a short dress, drinking, visiting a frat house or walking alone,” said Assemblymember Rosenthal. “But words alone will not flip the misogynist script that pervades our campuses, workplaces and personal lives. We must work to hold institutions accountable to protect their students, minimize the pain of survivors and impose strong consequences for harboring predators and shielding abusers. I look forward to working with my colleagues in passing this much-needed legislation for every Jane Doe in New York.”