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New Law Ushers in Increased Sexual Assault Prevention Efforts

12/7/2016


 

Contact: Sandy Connolly, Director of Communications
Office of Higher Education
(651) 259-3902

St. Paul, MN -- Increased efforts to prevent sexual assaults and improve incident responses on Minnesota college campuses are underway as the result of legislation signed into law last year by Governor Mark Dayton.

Beginning this fall semester, postsecondary institutions are required to provide sexual assault training to students and staff, and enhance cooperation efforts between institutions and local law enforcement.

"While many of these education and prevention efforts are already in place at campuses across Minnesota, this law expands those efforts to more students," said Commissioner Larry Pogemiller, Office of Higher Education (OHE). "First and foremost, the aim is to reduce the number of assaults on campus, but also to support victims with a better understanding of their rights and protections."

Postsecondary institutions are also now required to collect and report the number of sexual assaults reported to the institution and the follow-up responses to these reports. Categories include the number of sexual assaults reported, how many were investigated by the institution, and the number in which the victim reported to law enforcement, to name a few.

The data collection and display is managed by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and will be updated annually. The first reporting of the data, covering the time period between January 1 and December 31, 2015, is now available online.

For more information, contact Sandy Connolly at 651-259-3902 or by email at sandy.connolly@state.mn.us.


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