Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has proposed a state budget that would hide the facts about sexual assault. On Friday, Jezebel reported,
"Under Walker's budget, universities would no longer have to report the number of sexual assaults that take place on a campus to the Department of Justice. Under Walker's plan, university employees who witness a sexual assault would no longer have to report it."
Federal law already requires universities to report these statistics, so Walker saw the state law as redundant and granted the University of Wisconsin's request to delete the state law -- but the more reporting requirements and protections students have against sexual assault, the better, at every level of government. America's students deserve better. America's women deserve better.
Nearly 1 in 5 American women will be raped in their lifetimes. This is wrong, and it's up to us to create a better society and educate our young men about power and consent. That's why the #HeForShe and It's On Us movements are so important.
But Scott Walker is unintentionally undermining those efforts. It's On Us reminds us, "Don't just be a bystander -- if you see something, intervene in any way you can." That's the exact opposite of telling state employees it's not a state crime if they don't report sexual assault they see, even if it is still a federal crime.
Tell Scott Walker you're disgusted by his proposal to let colleges ignore sexual assault under state law -- he must reverse course!
