Giving underage victims of sexual assault amnesty from drinking tickets seems like a no-brainer, and Wisconsin state lawmakers have finally realized it.

Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, introduced the sexual assault amnesty bill Monday. I applaud her for proposing an excellent bill that will hopefully increase reporting of sexual assaults in the University of Wisconsin System, but this bill should have been proposed a long time ago.

Proposed bill would give sexual assault victims amnesty from drinking citations throughout Wisconsin

I cannot think of a time in recent history where sexual assault on college campuses was not a major issue. In September, UW released data showing more than 27 percent of women experience sexual assault while on campus.

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While this is a positive bill that should help address the problem of under-reporting, fear of an underage drinking ticket is not the only reason sexual assaults are under-reported on campuses.

According to UW, many victims do not report sexual assault because they believe it will not be investigated or taken seriously. Some may dismiss this as mere perception, but sadly it is true. There were 735 sexual assaults in the past five years at UW — only 67 were investigated and only 27 people were found responsible for sexual assaults they committed.

So out of 735 sexual assaults that have occurred at UW since 2011 only 27 people were held responsible for their actions. This is partly due to the fact that UW Police Department cannot investigate cases that were only reported to University Health Services or University Housing. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that only 10 percent of sexual assaults at UW are investigated. There is simply too large of a difference between the amount of sexual assaults occurring and those investigated.

While amnesty to victims of sexual assault may help address some of the under-reporting, it will do nothing to change the perception that UW does not take investigating sexual assaults seriously.

If the number of investigations was closer to 30 percent or even 40 percent, UW could claim a lack of manpower for falling short. But 10 percent is nowhere near respectable. If UW believes sending a few emails about the dangers of sexual assault and forcing freshman to participate in the Tonight program is sufficient, it’s wrong. If UW was serious about sexual assault, it would investigate more cases and hold more people responsible, deterring future sexual assaults from happening.

Showing UW is serious about holding people responsible is the best way to stop sexual assault from happening and the best way to instill trust with victims.

This proposed bill is a step in the right direction, but only a step in a marathon in which UW has a long way to go.

Luke Schaetzel ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.