This afternoon, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02) gathered college and university administrators, advocates, students, and state leaders for a summit to discuss how to best address and prevent campus sexual assault at a forum devoted to the topic. A large majority of New Hampshire colleges and universities were in attendance.

“When students arrive on the campuses of New Hampshire’s colleges and universities, they should be able to focus on their academics and extracurricular activities without fearing for their safety,” said Congresswoman Kuster. “Unfortunately, much work remains to be done to completely eradicate incidences of sexual assault from our schools, but here in New Hampshire I was glad to hear from a committed group of administrators and advocates working to make that vision a reality. There is important work being done on campuses across the state, and I convened today’s summit so that we can discuss this work, pinpoint best practices, identify areas for improvement, and elevate campus safety everywhere. Conversations like today’s are difficult, but I am confident that together we will be able to improve campus safety for students across the Granite State.” 

During the summit, Kuster shared information about her current legislative efforts in Congress to help curb sexual assault on campus. A longtime cosponsor of the Campus Safety and Accountability Act, which would require schools that receive federal funding to strengthen prevention, education, and reporting measures, Kuster is also helping to introduce new legislation  with her colleague from California, Representative Jackie Speier; the Safe Transfer Act, which would strengthen measures to increase transparency for students when perpetrators transfer to their campuses, and the No Funding for Sexual Harassers Act, which would require schools found guilty of violating Title IX, a statute used in part to evaluate schools that are mishandling sexual assault cases, to report these violations to grant-making agencies, like NASA and the NSF. Both of these bills would help enhance accountability and improve transparency on college campuses.

Kuster was joined at the summit by Allison Power-Bernal of the Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Tom Horgan of the New Hampshire College and University Council, and Kathy Kimball of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office Sexual Assault and Resource Team (SART) Program. She was also joined by representatives from Dartmouth College, Franklin Pierce University, Keene State College, New England College, Plymouth State University, Rivier University, UNH, and others

Congresswoman Kuster has long been a champion for victims and survivors of sexual or domestic violence. She joined with 17 other Members of Congress to read on the House floor Emily Doe’s open letter describing her attack and ensuing trial – which marked the first time a victim’s statement has been read in full in the House chambers. Congresswoman Kuster and her colleagues took this action a step further by describing their own personal experiences – or those of their loved ones – involving sexual assault to demonstrate that Emily Doe is not alone, and that steps must be taken to stop sexual violence in our society.  Kuster recently held a roundtable discussion on campus assault in the Upper Valley, and will continue to convene conversations on the topic around the state.

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