In her recent trip to Iowa, Hillary Clinton called sexual assault an “epidemic” on college campuses, and revealed her three-part plan to eradicate campus sexual assault and sexual violence.

via  Shutterstock
via Shutterstock

Speaking at the University of Northern Iowa, Clinton revealed her plans for a comprehensive approach to combatting campus sexual assault. Her approach is layered, and aims to create change both at a systemic and cultural level. Clinton says she will focus her efforts through three key steps: embolden support resources to survivors of sexual assault, work on a fair and thorough disciplinary or legal process, and invest in sexual assault prevention through consent education.

“As president, I’ll fight to make sure every campus offers every survivor the support she needs and will make sure those services are comprehensive, confidential and coordinated,” she said.

A Washington Post-Kaiser poll released this year reaffirmed that 1 in 5 college women are sexually assaultedduring their time at school. The data also show that students are divided about the definition of consent, that victims of sexual assault suffer from trauma, and that a small minority of victims report the crime. The Post-Kaiser poll defined sexual assault to include five types of unwanted contact: oral sex, vaginal sexual intercourse, anal sex, sexual penetration with a finger or object, and forced touching of a sexual nature. In all, 25 percent of women and 7 percent of men said they experienced one or more of the types of unwanted contact listed while in college. And while most of the victims told someone they trusted about the incident, only 11 percent reported the crime to police of college authorities.

Clinton has long made women’s issues a priority. “It is not enough to condemn campus sex assault. We need to end campus sexual assault,” Clinton said.

Media Resources: Star Tribune 9/14/15; Feminist Newswire 6/15/15; ABC News 9/14/15;

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