Today, President Obama committed to fighting sexual assault on campuses across America. In a White House ceremony, the President signed a memorandum creating a White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. The task force will have 90 days to make policy recommendations to the President to address sexual assault on college campuses.
According to the memorandum, "Studies show that about one in five women is a survivor of attempted or completed sexual violence while in college. In addition, a substantial number of men experience sexual violence during college. Although schools have made progress in addressing rape and sexual assault, more needs to be done to ensure safe, secure environments for students of higher education."
Several high profile cases of campuses underreporting sexual assaults, including here in LA at USC and Occidental College, have brought attention to the issue of sexual assault on college campuses, and we hope the task force brings even further attention to this important, national issue.
For more, read the President's remarks when signing the memorandum or this LA Times article about the task force.
Obama Takes Strong Stance Against College Sexual Assault
January 22, 2014