Task Force Created to Combat College Rape

WASHINGTON (CN) - President Barack Obama has created a task force to tackle the issue of sexual assault on college campuses.

One in five women experiences some form of sexual violence in college, according to the president, relying on studies.

In response, this week Obama created an interagency task force to make higher education institutions safer and create better accountability around rapes and sexual assaults on campus.

Among other things, the task force is to coordinate "federal enforcement effort by executive departments and agencies and helping institutions meet their obligations under federal law."

The task force will consist of at least eight heads of federal agencies, including the Attorney General, Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Education.

Among their tasks, the group will "provide institutions with evidence-based best and promising practices for preventing and responding to rape and sexual assault" and attempt to increase transparency regarding the government's enforcement actions around those issues.

"Because rape and sexual assault also occur in the elementary and secondary school context, the task force shall evaluate how its proposals and recommendations may apply to, and may be implemented by, schools, school districts, and other elementary and secondary educational entities receiving federal financial assistance," the president wrote in the memorandum.

Obama directed the task force to submit within 90 days proposals with examples of programs about dealing with, preventing and investigating sexual assaults.

The task force is to measure the success of their efforts by "compliance with individual policies or through broader assessment of campus climate, attitudes and safety, and providing the public with this information."

The president also ordered the task force to issue a yearly report on their efforts.

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit