WASHINGTON — Maryland colleges and universities are about to get some expert help in confronting campus sexual assault.
The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, umbrella group for the state’s 17 rape crisis and recovery centers, will help campuses improve their response to sexual assault survivors.
The state has awarded the group a $71,288 grant to provide colleges technical assistance, training and policy development.
“We want to make sure that when sexual assault does occur, that we respond in a way that supports the survivor and supports recovery,” says Lisae Jordan, executive director and counsel for MCASA.
This spring, the General Assembly passed and Gov. Larry Hogan signed into law a bill that requires colleges and universities to have solid working relationships with local rape crisis centers. The goal is to ensure that sexual assault victims have accurate information and legal options.
Jordan says it’s also critical for campus policies and protocols on sexual assault cases to be fair: “We should not have any sort of situation where people feel there’s a bias or prejudgment.”
Because a college campus can sometimes resemble a small community, it can make victims reluctant to step forward, she says. “They’re places where people know one another and talk with one another, and if someone is sexually assaulted, it’s often going to be the case that many people know both the perpetrator and the survivor and sometimes that discourages people from coming forward.”
MCASA says it will use the state money to help campuses improve their response to sexual assault survivors.
