New legislation that aims to improve responses to sexual assault and abuse cases will be voted on in the Illinois Senate.
State Senator Scott Bennett recently advanced Bill 3096, which outlines the information that must be included in an officer’s report of a sexual assault case, as well as what information needs to be available to the victim.
The bill also outlines procedures for collection of sexual assault kits from hospitals to ensure victims’ rights are protected.
The bill passed the Illinois Senate’s Committee on Criminal Justice with bipartisan support and will now move to the full Senate for consideration.
“Our number one goal is to end cases of sexual abuse and assault,” Bennett said in a press release. “However, if a case occurs, we must have clear and concise guidelines to give victims a comprehensive path to justice.”
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This bill would improve the handling of sexual assault cases.
Currently, the University Police is investigating a sexual assault that occurred on campus Saturday.
The UIPD issued a campus safety notice to inform students of a reported sexual assault that occurred at a fraternity house by a person known to the victim.
“I can’t say much about the specifics of the case because we limit the amount of information we release so as to not identify the survivor,” said UIPD spokesperson Patrick Wade.
This marks the second UIPD campus safety notice this year that involves a sexual assault at a fraternity house. According to Wade, in the most recent data, there were 12 cases of rape on campus in 2014.
“Sexual abuse, sexual assault and sexual misconduct are unfortunately a frequent problem on college campuses across the country, and ours is no exception,” Wade said. “But we also know that rape and other forms of sexual abuse are a widely underreported crime.”
Wade said that while our campus does a good job compared to others in terms of sexual assault awareness and prevention, “there’s always room for more.”
“I want survivors to know that there’s a great community here on our campus willing and able to help,” Wade said.
