Albany, NY - February 25th, 2015 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced “Enough is Enough,” a wide-ranging statewide campaign to push for the passage of the Governor’s legislation combatting sexual assault on college campuses.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will embark on a statewide tour to bring “Enough is Enough” to college campuses, meeting with members of the student body, faculty and administration as well as service providers and advocates for survivors of rape and sexual assault. The campaign also includes a website, and a video featuring students, advocates and elected officials supporting the Governor’s policy to address sexual assault on college campuses.
“We must do more to address sexual assault and rape on college campuses, and this law will ensure that students at all colleges in the State are protected by the same uniform policies that SUNY adopted last year,” Governor Cuomo said. “New York must take a stand to combat the culture of sexual violence in higher education. This is a call to action for everyone who believes students should be protected by their college or university, and New York should be a leader in the fight against sexual violence on college campuses.”
As part of the Enough is Enough campaign, New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico today announced a dedicated hotline for reporting sexual assaults on college and university campuses: 1-844-845-7269. The hotline went live at 11 am today. Specially-trained members will be on-call 24 hours a day to respond to sexual assault calls throughout the State. Over the next several weeks, State Police will also develop response protocols and training courses to share with campus partners.
This year, Governor Cuomo announced legislation that would codify a sexual assault prevention and response policy previously adopted by the State University of New York, applying the provisions to all colleges and universities – public and private – in New York State. The Governor’s legislation will extend the SUNY policy and protections to colleges statewide and ensure that the State’s 1.2 million college students are protected with comprehensive and uniform procedures and guidelines, including affirmative consent and access to law enforcement. Once law, this policy will go far to protect more students in New York.
The “Enough is Enough” website and video are a call to action for supporters to spread the message and provide facts about sexual assault on college campuses. The website acts as a resource for victims who are in need of help. It includes information about the Governor’s proposal and tabs to write letters to the editor, share stories and state support for the policy. It also links to campuscrime.ny.gov, which the Governor launched last year to provide important information regarding sexual assault prevention and response on all college campuses in New York.
The New York State Police is an active partner with all SUNY police and public safety departments enforcing the Governor’s sexual assault policy. The State Police investigates more than 3,000 sexual assaults across the State each year.
The Governor’s on-campus sexual assault prevention proposal includes the following components:
- A statewide definition of affirmative consent, defining consent as a clear, unambiguous, and voluntary agreement between the participants to engage in specific sexual activity;
- A statewide amnesty policy, to ensure that students reporting incidents of sexual assault or other sexual violence are granted immunity for certain campus policy violations, such as drug and alcohol use;
- A Sexual Violence Victim/Survivor Bill of Rights, which campuses will be required to distribute to all students in order to specifically inform sexual violence victims of their legal rights and how they may access appropriate resources. The Bill of Rights clearly states that students are given the right to know they can report sexual assaults to outside law enforcement, including the State Police;
- Comprehensive training requirements for administrators, staff, and students, including at new student orientations.
SUNY has already implemented this policy, having adopted the Governor’s proposal last year. Campuses have implemented the Victim/Survivor Bill of Rights which is provided to all students via email from the University President or a designee, and university police and public safety officials have completed training in new policies. The SUNY Implementation Task Force is developing an on-campus system-wide police training effort as well as materials to educate students, faculty and staff, which will be completed in May 2015. System Administration will also support campuses in starting their own student awareness campaigns beginning this Spring.