“These are crimes,” said Rep. Kim Coleman, R-West Jordan, the bill’s sponsor. “We’ve got to treat them like the felony crimes that they are.”
But critics of HB254 questioned whether student victims would be less likely to report to campus support services if their requests for confidentiality can be overruled.
“We’re not going to be supporting the survivors,” Romero said. “We’re going to be pushing survivors back into the shadows and they’re not going to report.”
While the bill awaited its first floor vote, lawmakers were contacted by local and national victims’ advocacy organizations who oppose the bill, including the Human Rights Campaign, Know Your IX, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Victim Rights Law Center.