Blumenthal: Sexual assault bill a good start but doesn’t go far enough

HARTFORD, Conn. – As Gov. Dannel P. Malloy prepared Monday to sign legislation aimed at improving how universities respond to sexual assaults, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said he supports the legislation but it does not go far enough.

Blumenthal held a press conference in Hartford to announce what he is calling a “Bill of Rights” for the victims of campus sexual assault. It’s a set of proposals the senator is hoping to see included in legislation. The ideas come from a report his office put together after hosting roundtable discussions at seven Connecticut colleges and universities.

“As good and important as the bill is, it goes only part way in providing rights that would be included in the ‘Bill of Rights,” he said. “. . . I commend the governor for supporting and signing it, and as I mentioned earlier the legislators who supported it, but a ‘Bill of Rights’ — contained in statute, codified in law at the federal level — is absolutely necessary to protect Connecticut students as well as others, millions around the country.”

Blumenthal’s report seeks to address many of the same institutional concerns as the bill passed unanimously this year by the state legislature and which Malloy was expected to sign Monday. Both seek to ensure that victims have clear access to support services and an option to confidentially report incidents. Both require schools to establish a trained sexual assault response team.

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