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Lawmakers Wednesday announced the formation of the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence, which will focus on issues including campus safety, data collection and law enforcement training.
The leaders of the task force are New Hampshire Democrat Ann Kuster, Pennsylvania Republican Patrick Meehan, Ohio Republican David Joyce and California Democrat Jackie Speier.
"The stigma that surrounds this issue has silenced many survivors, but it's long past time we shatter that silence," said Kuster, who last year shared her own experience of sexual assault. She said the bipartisan effort "will serve as a force to drive legislation and policy that will support survivors of sexual assault and educate our fellow members of Congress as well as the public about how we can end this persistent problem."
Other members of the task force include Republicans Jackie Walorski, Carlos Curbelo, Lynn Jenkins, Ryan Costello, Ted Poe and Tom Reed; and Democrats Carolyn Maloney, Pramila Jayapal, Lois Frankel and Katherine Clark.
Speier in particular has been active in filing legislation dealing with sexual assault on college campuses. In September, she pushed the Department of Education to provide assistance with student loans for victims of assault. And in December she introduced a bill that would require academic transcripts to include a notation to show a student had violated campus rules involving sexual violence.
