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This bill would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to provide every student at every college in the City with information about services regarding sexual assault, including how to contact rape crisis centers, hospitals with forensic examiner programs, and telephone help lines. It would require DOHMH to provide all students with an online tool with functionality for reporting sexual assaults and where they have occurred. It would require the DOHMH to develop a sexual assault prevention and response curriculum that would include training in affirmative consent and on-campus adjudications for students, faculty, campus safety officers and college administrators. Lastly, it would require DOHMH to establish a task force including representatives from certain City agencies to work with students and representatives of the faculty and administration from colleges and universities in the City to identify ways to improve City services and agency responses to college sexual assaults.

  • Filed (End of Session)

History

City Council
Filed (End of Session)
Committee on Higher Education
Hearing Held by Committee
Committee on Higher Education
Amendment Proposed by Comm
Committee on Higher Education
Laid Over by Committee
City Council
Referred to Comm by Council
City Council
Introduced by Council
Proposed Int. No. 517-A
 
By The Public Advocate (Ms. James) and Council Members Gibson, Chin, Constantinides, Cumbo, Koo, Lander, Mendez, Vacca, Rosenthal, Rodriguez, Williams and Menchaca
 
 
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to information and city services to reduce college sexual assault.
 
 
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new chapter 18 to read as follows:
Chapter 18
Sexual Assault Services
 
§17-1801 Provision of information and services regarding sexual assault.
 
§ 17-1801 Provision of information and services regarding sexual assault. a. The commissioner shall establish and make available to all students attending a college or university in New York city the following:
i. a list of all rape crisis centers within the city of New York including address and contact information for such centers;
ii. a list of all hospitals with sexual assault forensic examiner programs approved by the New York state department of health;
iii. the telephone number for helplines to assist victims of sexual assault; and
iv. an online tool or mobile application that enables students to report incidents of sexual assault  to the appropriate authorities and gives guidance regarding when and how that should be done.  Such application shall provide (1) referral information and reviews of local resources; (2) a mapping function to identify where sexual assaults have occurred; (3) tools for student engagement and leadership; and (4) resources on bystander engagement for preventing sexual assault.
b. The department shall work in conjunction with the mayor's office to combat domestic violence and local rape crisis centers to establish an education program for sexual assault prevention and response for students, faculty, campus safety officers and administrators of New York city colleges and universities. Such education program shall include, but not be limited to, affirmative consent education, bystander intervention, disclosure training, offender education, and material to educate individuals adjudicating or otherwise making determinations of internal college or university proceedings to address claims of sexual assault. The department shall make all material for such educational program available to New York city colleges and universities.
c. The commissioner shall establish a task force that shall include, but not be limited to, representatives from the mayor's office to combat domestic violence, health and hospitals corporation, police department and department of education. Such task force shall work with students and representatives of the faculty and administration from colleges and universities in New York city to identify ways to improve city services and agency response to college sexual assault.
§2. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment into law.
 
LS 1738
12/22/14
9:10 a.m
JC