LOS ANGELES — California law enforcement and education leaders on Wednesday directed colleges to quickly notify authorities when a sexual assault is reported on campus, following criticism that incidents were being hidden by universities and not investigated thoroughly.
The model guidelines include requiring agencies to test rape kits; better coordinate interviews so victims don’t have to recount a traumatic experience multiple times; and make sure students are informed of their right to file a report — or not to.
“Part of the work we have done is to acknowledge that there are silos in our system,” Harris said. “And we need to break through those.”
In a separate law, California became the first state to define when “yes means yes,” requiring an “affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement” to engage in sexual activity.
California is one of the only states requiring colleges to contact law enforcement in a sex assault case.
