Only 38% of Illinois Colleges Report Campus Assault, Bill Aims to Fix That

Just 38% of Illinois colleges and universities are filing the annual reports on campus sexual violence that state law already requires them to send to the attorney general's office.

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, is sponsoring the Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act in the House. The bill would give the Illinois Attorney General's Office added power to compel schools to publicly disclose incidents of sexual violence on campus. "It means that the actual number of incidents of sexual violence on campus are actually far greater than what's being reported," said Carrie Ward, CEO of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, which helped craft the legislation.

The bill would require colleges to address digital sexual harassment, including revenge porn. It would let victims bring legal and mental health support to campus proceedings, and it would allow survivors to sue a school they believe mishandled their case. A student would first have to write to the school laying out where the institution failed to follow its own policy, Canty said. "The new bill will give more teeth to the Attorney General's office to make sure the school has more policies in place and are turning over their reporting," Canty told NBC Chicago.

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men experience sexual assault during college. Ward said a school's handling of a case can determine whether a student stays enrolled. "If they don't feel like they can go back to class, if they don't feel like they can go back to their major, it can really impact what their education looks like," Ward said.

The measure cleared the Illinois Senate with bipartisan support last spring. It is scheduled for consideration during next month's fall veto session.