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Pennsylvania Implements National 'It's On Us' Sexual Assault Initiative

www.governor.pa.gov

Pennsylvania recently became the first state to launch a federal campaign to stop sexual assault on college campuses.

The national initiative was announced in 2014 by President Barack Obama with the goal of building a movement to address, respond to and ultimately prevent sexual violence. A local "On Us PA" launched in late January.

Gov. Tom Wolf called the President's plan the first "real crusade" against sexual assault.

It aims to mobilize citizens to take action through local government, service organizations and school systems. In Pennsylvania, Franklin and Marshall College, Butler County Community College and the State System of Higher Education Chancellor Frank Brogan have signed on, along with several schools.

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, according to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. More than 90 percent of victims of sexual assaults on campus do not report it to authorities.

Pennsylvanians are invited to take the “It’s On Us” pledge online