CAPPA LEGISLATION UPDATE
Issued January 15, 2021
View PDF version here.
Though funding and access to social services is indisputably political, supporting survivors goes beyond politics. Through survivor narratives, and the research that echoes them, we know that any person can experience interpersonal violence. Interpersonal violence is an universal experience, one that does not discriminate based on political affiliation, background, or identity. Affirming these experiences means holistically honoring the individual, and we cannot base our support and interventions solely on the voting system.
Developing and amending policy at federal, state, and local levels is crucial in codifying primary prevention efforts and providing sufficient survivor and community support. As we know, the personal is political and we must encourage every administration to prioritize the needs of individuals and communities impacted by various forms of interpersonal violence. Regardless of who our elected officials are, whether in the executive branch or local town councils, holding candidates accountable to the policies they create, enforce, or dismiss is part of actively participating in a democracy. As advocates and prevention professionals, we have the unique opportunity to influence the creation and maintenance of policies that advance survivor’s rights, and inclusive and equitable access to necessary services. Through activism, engagement, and continued guidance, we must continue to rally behind survivors and follow their lead in advancing rights across all administrations and political landscapes.
As advocates and prevention professionals, we have to support all survivors beyond politics. We should use our advocacy skills to benefit individuals and communities impacted by violence by rallying behind policies that advance survivors’ rights. Advancing rights includes removing barriers to accessing care, and supporting equity along the lines of race, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, class, ability, religion, and other identity markers.
We offer some legislative recommendations to monitor, as outlined in a letter penned from the National Women’s Law Center and other education and advocacy organizations.
The Biden-Harris administration should strengthen Title IX enforcement
Stop enforcement of new regulations
Initiate new rulemaking
Release interim guidance
Restore standards from earlier guidance
Reaffirm Title IX covers dating/domestic violence and stalking
Supportive measures and remedies for survivors
Robust protections against retaliation
Equal procedural rights
New standards that:
Provide protections for LGBTQ students
Provide protections for pregnant, parenting, and breastfeeding students
Prohibit dress codes that reinforce gender stereotypes
Ensure religious exemptions do not inappropriately limit protections against sex-based discrimination
The Biden-Harris administration should increase support and resources for key anti-sexual harassment initiatives
Establish a new White House Task Force on sexual harassment in schools, with explicit focus on race, gender, LGBTQ identity, and disability
Provide policies and resources for:
Addressing supportive measures
Provision of comprehensive sexuality education
Training for staff
Data collection
Equitable discipline and adjudication models
New grant programs to fund programs/initiatives:
School climate surveys
Restorative and transformative justice pilot programs
Comprehensive sexual health and consent education
Training staff on how to recognize and respond to sexual harassment
The Biden-Harris administration should support federal legislation that protects
survivors and aims to prevent harassment in schools:
Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 with additional protections
HALT Act (H.R. 3381)
Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act (H.R. 2747)
SeCURE Act (H.R. 2026)
Reauthorization of VAWA
Gender Equity in Education Act (H.R. 3513)
The Biden-Harris administration should improve agency data collection of sex-based harassment:
Improve the accuracy, reliability, and utility of the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and Campus Safety and Security Survey (CSS)
Restore and update the Clery Handbook
Expand the CRDC to include additional questions about sex-based harassment regarding:
Student-on-student
staff/volunteer-on-student
staff-on-staff
Update the CRDC’s definitions of “rape” and “sexual assault” to align with the Clery Act definitions used in the CSS
The Biden-Harris administration should appoint diverse and highly qualified individuals who are committed to gender justice and ending sexual violence:
Fill the Special Assistant for Gender Equity position to oversee gender equity programs
Resource the White House Council on Gender Equity with issue area experts
Designate a Senior Advisor on gender equity
Appoint staff who are committed to gender justice to the Domestic Policy Council and Council of Economic Advisors
Designate staff at the Deputy Secretary level with reporting authority on gender justice issues to the Council
The Biden-Harris administration should listen directly to survivors and to students about their experiences and needs:
Conduct a listening tour to seek perspectives from diverse communities, movements, and organizations, and Black, Indigenous, and other survivors of color; LGBTQ survivors; survivors with disabilities; and survivors from all types of colleges/universities.