‘Enough Is Enough’ Campaign Will Combat Sexual Assault On College Campuses [VIDEO]

Governor Cuomo is announcing a campaign to push for the passage of his 'Enough is Enough' legislation that will combat sexual assault on college campuses in New York State.

The legislation will make policies already in place on SUNY campuses apply to all colleges and universities in the state to make sure the 1.2 million college students in New York are protected from sexual assault with uniform policies including affirmative consent and access to law enforcement.

New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico also announced a hotline for reporting sexual assaults on campus, that is now active 1-844-845-7269.

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.