BYU students who report sexual assault safe from honor code sanctions

BYU+protester+wears+blue+ribbon+to+show+support+for+students+who+report+sexual+assault.

BYU protester wears blue ribbon to show support for students who report sexual assault.

Madison Rexroat

In a report by the New York Times, Brigham Young University announced that students who report sexual assault will not face consequences of honor code violations (like drinking or extramarital sex) that happened near or during the assault.

The university’s goal is to encourage students to report sex-related crimes without fear of punishment.

The change in policy came after much criticism last April revolving around college investigations into honor code violations after students reported a sexual assault. Adding to this reform is a 2008 study in Utah that found that only 12 percent of victims come forward.

BYU is a Mormon-run university with an honor code that discourages consensual sex outside marriage and prohibits drinking, same-sex intimacy and sexual misconduct.

The reform is not expected to significantly increase false reports (possibly to cover code violations), but rather it hopes to make reporting sexual assault an easier decision for student victims.

Read the full story by the New York Times here.