Bill targets sexual assault prevention education

JONESBORO - Vicki Crego, executive director for the Family Crisis Center, considers sexual assault a "very under-reported crime." Victims may seek help, but not from law enforcement.

"In other words, we may get a call from a victim of sexual assault but they don't necessarily feel comfortable reporting in a higher capacity," Crego said, adding there are reasons for that especially on a college campus where people may simply not know how to deal with it.

Lawmakers are hoping to change that concern with House Bill 1518. It requires the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board to develop an action plan to address the prevention of sexual assault.

The House of Representatives passed the bill March 13 with a vote of 92-0, while the Senate voted 34-0 on Thursday to approve it. It was forwarded Friday to Gov. Asa Hutchinson for his signature.

Crego believes it is a good idea. She said "it is a problem that has not been addressed for so long that people are finally starting to talk about it more and more."

One out of every six American women and one out of every 33 American men have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape. Only 35-40 percent report the sexual assault to police.

Arkansas is also ranked 47th among the states in the number of reported forcible rapes at a rate of 42.3 reported rapes per 100,000 people, according to HB1518.

Women and girls between the ages of 16 to 19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of sexual assault. The bill stated those victims are three times more likely to suffer from depression, six times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 13 times more likely to abuse alcohol, 26 times more likely to abuse drugs and four times more likely to contemplate suicide.

"Community colleges and universities in Arkansas provide a critical venue to address the prevention of sexual assault," the bill added.

To do so, the bill will have the coordinating board work with all public college and university chancellors and presidents, or their designees, to create the action plan.

That action plan, which must be completed by Nov. 3, will incorporate sexual assault prevention information through advising student orientation and academic courses if and when appropriate as well as other opportunities to raise awareness and provide resources.

The coordinating board will also be tasked with identifying private or federal grants available - and the necessary partnerships to get those grants - and to collaborate with the Department of Health and/or federally qualified health centers to promote access to care.

Finally, the action plan will have to identify other topics or issues relating to the prevention and reduction of sexual assault.

"If we can provide people with more education and more resources and create some better collaboration, it might not be as challenging to help those victims that are affected and also to do more prevention education," Crego said. "I think that is a really important aspect of having an action plan."

It is a topic that is not new to Arkansas State University where Chocoletta Simpson, ASU's Title IX and affirmative action officer, has said she has been getting several requests from individuals, departments and campus organizations to speak on the procedures the campus has in place.

Part of Simpson's job is to make sure the university meets all federal requirements in regards to sexual assault training as well as to make sure it is received in the best way to make a difference on campus.

Sexual assault has been a renewed topic of conversation on the campus since a student was arrested in February on suspicion of felony rape and aggravated assault of another student.

James Key Chambless, 20, 61 Vestal Drive, Lonoke, is accused of raping a female he knew at a fraternity house Feb. 10. She later told police she delayed reporting the sexual assault several days because she was afraid.

While future education should target victims or potential victims, Crego said it should also focus on offenders. That includes telling potential offenders what the consequences of their behavior will be.

"We spend a whole lot of time focusing on what could the victim have done to prevent that, but we don't really talk to other victims of different kinds of crime that way, "Crego said. "... I think we better start focusing on how perpetrators are getting away with this crime and what we need to be doing about that as well."