CHELSEA — Gov. Andrew Cuomo and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi visited the Fashion Institute of Technology Monday to push for reforms to campus rape policies.
"We are still in a state of denial. We don’t want to address the problem that we victimize women in our society," Cuomo said. “I’m not going to let the campuses cover it up anymore."
Cuomo is pushing legislation in Albany that would require colleges to inform students of their right to call police after an assault. It would also define sexual consent for students, saying that each person involved in sexual activity is responsible for getting affirmative consent — a yes — from others.
"Lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent," the bill reads.
Women age 18 to 24 suffer the highest rate of rape and sexual assaults, according to Justice Department figures. Those not in school are more frequent victims than students, though they tend to report the crime at a higher rate. Only one in five sexual assaults on campuses were reported to police, the national figures show.
The bill's policies already apply to SUNY schools like FIT, but would be expanded to cover private universities as well.
The bill would also provide amnesty for drug and alcohol violations for those afraid of getting in trouble by telling their story, though it would protect only against violations of school policy, not arrest.
Cuomo said sexual assault was a "symptom" of a greater problem of women's inequality.
“The illness is that we are in a society that still discriminates against women and that still treats women unequally," he said. “We treat women differently.”
