Bill Text: NJ S3101 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires institution of higher education to provide victim-centered training to employees who assist student victims of sexual assault.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-11-05 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Higher Education Committee [S3101 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-S3101-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator M. TERESA RUIZ
District 29 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires institution of higher education to provide victim-centered training to employees who assist student victims of sexual assault.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning sexual assault at institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 61E of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. An institution of higher education shall provide victim-centered training to an employee of the institution who is involved in the receipt of a report made by a student who is the victim of an alleged incident of sexual assault, the referral or provision of services to the victim, or any campus disciplinary proceedings that result from the alleged incident. The training shall also be provided to a student enrolled in the institution who is appointed to serve as a residence-life advisor, peer advisor, or in a similar position, and an employee or contracted service provider that provides campus security. The training shall be provided annually.
The training shall ensure that a student who reports an incident of sexual assault to the institution receives an appropriate victim-centered response. The training shall be designed to improve the trainee's ability to:
a. understand the sexual assault policies of the institution;
b. understand the relevant provisions of the "Campus Sexual Assault Victim's Bill of Rights" established pursuant to P.L.1994, c.160 (C.18A:61E-1 et seq.), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. s.1681 et seq.), and the "Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act" (20 U.S.C. s.1092(f));
c. understand the roles of the institution, medical providers, law enforcement, and community agencies in ensuring a coordinated response to a reported incident of sexual assault;
d. provide services to, or assist in locating services for, the victim, as appropriate; and
e. communicate sensitively and compassionately with the victim of a sexual assault.
For purposes of this section, "victim-centered response" means a systematic focus on the needs and concerns of a victim of sexual assault that: ensures the compassionate and sensitive delivery of services in a nonjudgmental manner; ensures an understanding of how trauma affects victim behavior; maintains victim safety, privacy and, where possible, confidentiality; and recognizes that a victim is not responsible for the sexual assault.
2. This act shall take
effect immediately and shall first apply to the 2020-2021 academic year.
STATEMENT
This bill requires each institution of higher education to annually provide victim-centered training to an employee of the institution who is involved in the receipt of a report made by a student who is the victim of an alleged incident of sexual assault, the referral or provision of services to the victim, or any campus disciplinary proceedings that result from the alleged incident. The training must also be provided to a student enrolled in the institution who is appointed to serve as a residence-life advisor, peer advisor, or in a similar position, and an employee or contracted service provider that provides campus security. The training must include information that ensures that the student receives an appropriate victim-centered response upon reporting an incident of sexual assault. Specifically, the training must seek to improve the ability of the trainee to:
- understand the sexual assault policies of the institution;
- understand the relevant provisions of certain State and federal
laws;
- understand the role of the institution, medical providers, law
- enforcement, and community agencies in ensuring a coordinated
- response to a reported incident of sexual assault;
- provide services to, or assist in locating services for, the victim,
- as appropriate; and
- communicate sensitively and compassionately with the victim
- of a sexual assault.
