Correction: Campus Sexual Assault story

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - In a story Jan. 22 about legislation on sexual assault on college and university campuses, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Claire Wyatt was raped in her dorm room. She says she was sexually assaulted in her room in a house where she was living.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Va. lawmakers far from consensus on campus sexual assault

Virginia lawmakers are far from consensus on campus sexual-assault legislation

By BILL SIZEMORE

Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia lawmakers are far from consensus on legislation dealing with sexual assault on college and university campuses.

That was apparent at the end of a two-hour hearing Thursday by a Senate subcommittee wrestling with the issue.

The panel considered 10 bills, but was unable to reach any agreements.

The flurry of legislation was spurred by several recent high-profile cases of alleged sex crimes on Virginia campuses.

Most controversial was the concept of mandatory reporting. Some of the measures would require university employees who become aware of an alleged sexual assault to report it to a law-enforcement agency within 24 or 48 hours. Failure to do so would be a misdemeanor.

Several witnesses warned that such a mandate would discourage victims from reporting assaults at all.

Claire Wyatt, a 2013 graduate of the University of Virginia, said she was sexually assaulted by a friend who walked her back to the room in a house she lived in during her senior year. It was traumatic enough reporting the assault to university administrators, she said, but the thought of going to the police would have been more frightening.

"I would not have gone to the university if it would have automatically triggered a report to the police," she said.

Rather than mandatory reporting to police, Wyatt said she prefers the approach proposed by Sen. Barbara Favola, an Arlington County Democrat. Favola's bill would require universities to establish a relationship with a local sexual-assault crisis center and offer to refer victims there for counseling and support.

That approach "keeps the process in the hands of the survivor," Wyatt said.