State to audit UCLA sexual assault policies
State auditors will review UCLA’s sexual assault policies and procedures as part of a regular review of four state universities, officials said Monday.
State Assemblyman Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) requested the audit of UC Berkeley and three other schools in August after he was contacted by an activist. Nine Berkeley students filed a complaint alleging that the school violated provisions of the federal Clery Act, a 1990 law that requires schools to report campus crime statistics to federal authorities.
Two Cal State universities yet to be determined will also be included in the audit.
UCLA officials said they welcomed the review.
“UCLA recently commenced an internal review of policies and procedures aimed at enhancing practices addressing sexual violence and harassment,” said Tod Tamberg, a spokesman, in a statement. “We are confident that this audit will complement UCLA’s ongoing efforts to identify and improve upon our policies and procedures in this critically important area.”
State auditors are required to report on colleges’ compliance with federal sexual assault reporting laws every three years, but Rendon asked that state auditors also examine whether schools were encouraging students to report assault or harassment, if campuse’ are providing sufficient counseling and resources to victims, and if school officials are referring cases to law enforcement.
Last year, UCLA reported 22 forcible sex offenses to federal officials.
Occidental College and USC officials recently disclosed that they had underreported the number of sexual assaults to federal officials. Both schools are under federal investigation for their handling of reported assaults.
[For the Record, 2:40 p.m. Nov. 20, 2013: A pervious version of this post incorrectly stated that the complaint filed by the nine Berkeley students alleged the school had inadequately investigated their sexual assaults and violated their Title IX rights.]
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