White House Rolls Out Guidelines to Stop Sexual Assault With Star-Studded PSA

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By Ann-Marie Alcántara2014-04-30 00:41:39 UTC

Vice President Joe Biden, Seth Meyers, Steve Carrell and other stars all have the same message in a White House public service announcement: stop sexual assault across America.

The PSA, uploaded to YouTube Tuesday, is part of the White House's new website, NotAlone.gov, a sexual assault resource page and just one of the recommendations from the First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, also released Tuesday.

See also: Petition Demands Dartmouth 'Take Action' Against Sexual Violence

The task force was launched in January by President Obama, with a mandate that within 90 days, the group should release steps for colleges to take in response to sexual assault across the U.S, particularly in colleges and universities.

That mandate was met on Monday, when the task force released its recommendations for U.S. colleges and universities. They include: requiring colleges to offer confidential counseling for sexual assault victims, asking schools to conduct a "climate survey" to assess sexual assault occurrences on campus and providing special support and training for school officials in handling sexual assault cases.

Part of the recommendations included the creation of NotAlone.gov, a website that allows sexual assault victims like search for services nearby, helping them understand legal terms in “plain English” and other types of information that can be misunderstood or hard to find.

The task force report also called for the PSA released Tuesday, aimed at “enlisting men as allies.” The video, which includes the actors mentioned above as well as Benicio del Toro, Daniel Craig, Dulé Hill and President Obama, says in no uncertain terms: if "she doesn’t consent or can’t," it's sexual assault and a crime.

At an event announcing the release of the First Report of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, Vice President Joe Biden listens as Madeleine Smith recounts her story of being raped while a student at Harvard University.

Image: Uncredited/Associated Press

Sexual assault cases across the U.S. are consistently reported as being mishandled, like the recent cases at Dartmouth College, Brown University, Florida State University and other schools.

One in five women is sexually assaulted while in college, states a White House press release.

"Colleges and universities need to face the facts about sexual assault," said Vice President Joe Biden in a statement. "No more turning a blind eye or pretending it doesn't exist."

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Topics: Joe Biden, Politics, Barack Obama, sexual assault, the white house, U.S., US & World

Image: Uncredited/Associated Press