I am a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Hilo and the state director of Every Voice Hawai‘i, a student- and survivor- led coalition to end sexual violence on college campuses. During Sexual Assault Awareness Month this April, my team of students and I want to thank the Legislature for moving forward with urgency on House Bill 554 (House Draft 2, Senate Draft 2), relating to campus safety.

Sexual violence should not be a part of the college experience. Yet as a student, I see that it is painfully woven into many of our lives, and many students are not receiving adequate support.

The 2021 UH Campus Climate Survey reported to the Legislature that 5 out of every 6 students who experienced gender violence did not access UH resources, and more than 80% of students reported negative consequences after experiencing sexual violence at UH; the trauma of sexual violence and the subsequent lack of support for student survivors has lasting impacts on educational and economic outcomes as well as career trajectory, and overall emotional and physical health.

Members of Every Voice Hawai‘i have witnessed friends go through the repercussions of experiencing sexual violence at UH, with peers dropping out after repeated assaults and some unable to stay enrolled past their first semester of college. Other survivors, close to graduation, express feelings of numbness and distance from their education and their school community.

Whether you are aware of it or not, campus safety affects all of us by changing who can participate in class, who graduates, and who is able to contribute their talents toward academic and career goals here in Hawaii. Thankfully, there are proven measures in HB 554 to reduce sexual violence rates and support survivors in healing.

HB 554 is a student-written, survivor-centered bill that emerged from the needs of students in Hawaii and establishes necessary resources and supports for college survivors of sexual violence: 1) trauma-informed training for responding school staff, 2) annual access to prevention and awareness programming, and 3) amnesty for reporting parties around school drugs and alcohol policy violations that occurred at the time of the incident. We must act now to ensure that these protections are in place for the 2023-24 school year.

Campus safety is an equity issue. The 2021 UH Campus Climate Survey reported that 1 in 6 female and 1 in 3 transgender or nonbinary undergraduate students are experiencing sexual harassment while enrolled at UH. Students with disabilities were two or more times more likely to experience sexual violence and harassment than their peers. Female graduate students — my personal cohort — reported twice the rate of sexual harassment from faculty as compared to undergraduate women across UH.

With a large current state budget surplus, we have the opportunity to support UH in targeting this inequality with the provisions in HB 554 to increase prevention measures and improve supportive resources so survivors can heal and continue in their education.

We are so grateful to the Legislature for passing this bill through both chambers, and are eager for the final bill language reconciliation before the bill makes its way to the governor’s desk. To all the students and student survivors who testified in support of the bill and contributed your voice to this effort: thank you. To all the community leaders and advocates who uplifted the needs of students and stood in solidarity with us: Thank you.

Lastly, thank you to all of the brave and compassionate legislators who voted in support of our bill and listened to the voices of students. Thank you for helping us create this groundbreaking, crucial change.

Anna Nalani Ezzy is the state director for Every Voice Hawaiʻi, and is on the public policy committee for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) of Hawaiʻi.