Senators Take Aim at “Rolling Stone” Rape Story

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who are pushing a bill to reform how campus sexual assaults are handled, said Tuesday they hope reform efforts can overcome a recent Rolling Stone story and subsequent apology from the magazine that have sparked criticism and discussion about campus rape and survivors.

“I am saddened and angry about the bad journalism in the Rolling Stone [sic] concerning an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia,” McCaskill said. “I am sad and angry because it is a setback for survivors in this country.”

Gillibrand said she hopes “this story will not ultimately outshine the story of thousands of brave women and men telling their stories. I refuse to let this one story become an excuse for Congress not to fix a broken system.”

In November, Rolling Stone published an explosive story about an alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia, relying on the victim’s account. The magazine later apologized to readers after some aspects of the story were challenged, revealing it believed the victim’s story contained inaccuracies.

Gillibrand said the story’s possible inaccuracy does not change the fact that UVA “has admitted that they have allowed students who have confessed to sexually assaulting another student to remain on campus” and noted that the problem has never been about just one school.

In late July, McCaskill and Gillibrand introduced as co-sponsors the Campus Safety and Accountability Act, a bill that would create new resources on college campuses, implement new training standards for school staff, and delineate penalties for schools that do not adequately report crimes and supply resources to students and victims. 

McCaskill and Gillibrand formerly took the lead on introducing legislation to confront sexual assault in the military.

The senators testified Tuesday as witnesses at a sparsely-attended hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on campus sexual assault and the role of law enforcement.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio