By Lisa Capobianco Staff Writer For the majority of women, becoming a victim of rape and sexual assault happens even before they hit age 24. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 80 percent of female victims were raped before age 25. On college campuses, one in five women has experienced sexual assault. The state of Connecticut has responded to these statistics with recent legislation that passed unanimously in the Senate and House of Representatives—an act that strengthens sexual assault prevention and response procedures on college campuses statewide. Public Act 14-11, “An Act Concerning Sexual Assault, Stalking and Intimate Partner Violence on Campus,” requires colleges to offer services to victims, to institute sexual assault policy and to report incidents to the Connecticut General Assembly. The law takes effect July 1. “I think it’s great that attention is being made to the issue—it’s a serious issue,” said David England, the Dean of Institutional Effectiveness at Tunxis Community College. Under the new law, all college campuses must immediately give written notification to each victim about his or her rights and options under the school’s policy and to permit anonymous reporting, stated a press release from Governor Dannel Malloy’s office. [...]
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