Colleges and the law
Different federal laws require colleges to follow specific procedures in response to sexual assaults and hostility on campus. Here is a brief summary:
Clery Act. This federal law requires colleges to report serious criminal allegations to the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges also must keep thorough and public criminal records. Colleges are not required to report the allegations to the police. Since signed into law in 1990, many colleges ignored the rules or intentionally reported low numbers. However, the federal government has increased its oversight in recent years. For example, Eastern Michigan University was fined $357,500 in 2008.
Title IX. This law is most often associated with sports, but it goes far beyond that. In 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments prohibited sex-based discrimination in schools. In 2011, the federal government clarified the standards and provided specific guidelines for how colleges must address reports of sexual misconduct.
Violence Against Women Act. The newly reauthorized law includes a provision that will require colleges to report instances of dating violence and stalking in addition to what they already reported under the Clery Act. Colleges must improve how they notify victims of their legal rights and keep campuswide policies for addressing and preventing sexual assault.
A culture change is sweeping across college campuses, with students more willing to speak up about sexual assaults, as in the case of the Spelman student who reported recently she was raped by students at neighboring Morehouse.
Victims of sexual assault are reporting more of these attacks to counselors and the police, local and national sexual abuse prevention experts say.
Beyond reporting the crimes, students are putting pressure on college leaders to take these cases seriously. When they fail to do so, students are filing complaints under Title IX, the federal civil rights law barring discrimination in education. Students have filed complaints against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Swathmore College outside Philadelphia and Occidental College in Los Angeles.
National statistics show one in four sexual assaults occurs on college campuses.
Federal data lags by a couple of years, but it shows an increase in reporting. In 2009, colleges reported 3,264 forcible sexual offenses. Schools reported 3,620 cases in 2010 and 4,197 in 2011.
Local colleges also reflect an increase. Emory University reported nine incidents in 2009 and that grew annually to 12 in 2011. It’s too soon to say what 2012 data will show but officials were surprised by the seven rapes reported this past fall. Meanwhile, University of Georgia and Athens police reported a combined nine incidents in the fall — up from the combined seven reported in fall 2010.
Colleges are required to report alleged criminal offenses, meaning the data doesn’t necessarily reflect prosecutions or convictions.
Still, sexual assaults remain underreported, and an increase in reports doesn’t mean there are more incidents, said Michelle Issadore, executive director of the School and College Organization for Prevention Educators, whose members deal with sexual abuse, mental health and other issues.
“What we have is a new mentality of people saying this isn’t acceptable and that sexual assaults are not an inevitable fact of college life,” she said. “This the climate shift we have been working for.”
Campus leaders and counselors attribute part of it to improved outreach and education programs at many colleges. Resident assistants in college dorms have been trained to talk about it and explain that there are centers on campus students can go to for help.
Some schools, like Georgia State University, require students to attend sessions about ethical issues in sexual relationships.
Others credit the millennial generation’s activism and an empowerment fueled by social media. An informal online network of activists who filed complaints against their colleges is working to educate other students about their rights and options. They are preparing a campaign, Know Your IX, to spell out civil rights protections under Title IX.
The other major driver is better understanding of federal laws dictating how colleges must respond to sexual misconduct. In 2011 the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights issued federal guidelines saying schools must take immediate and appropriate action to investigate a case of possible sexual violence. They’ve also said colleges can’t retaliate against students who file federal complaints.
And the reauthorized Violence Against Women Act requires colleges to report instances of dating violence and stalking in addition to other crimes they already had to report. Colleges also must strengthen procedures for notifying victims of their legal rights and maintain policies for handling and preventing sexual assaults.
All these changes have allowed victims and the general public to be more assertive, said Sally Sheppard, executive director of the Cottage in Athens, which provides intervention, advocacy and support for those affected by child abuse and sexual assault.
“We still have a strong culture of rape that says it’s OK in some circumstances, but the tides have shifted to wanting attackers to be held accountable,” said Sheppard, who has been working with sexual assault since 2003. “I think it is fantastic to see women standing up for themselves. This is their fight.”
Alexandra Brodsky was one of 16 students who filed a Title IX complaint against Yale University in 2011. Their complaint accused the university of failing to punish those involved in harassment and said this inaction created a sexually hostile environment. As part of an agreement with the federal government Yale agreed to specific changes and monitoring.
Today Brodsky is part of the informal online network teaching students their rights under Title IX. Students, she said, expect more from their colleges.
“It’s been standard that students were raped and harassed and they had no support from their colleges,” she said. “Students are saying we won’t tolerate this anymore. It’s about students pressuring colleges to comply with the law.”
Issadore noted today’s students are viewing this as a universal issue, with more men becoming involved in the fight.
During the recent rape of the Spelman student, a male friend who attends Morehouse tried to remove the alleged victim from the situation, according to the police report. He also questioned the behavior of the accused attackers.
Police arrested three Morehouse athletes for the alleged assault of the Spelman student, who is a freshman. The alleged attack took place in March.
The challenge, Issadore said, will be to build and maintain the current trajectory of increased attention to the issue. She said she hopes open discussions on sexual assaults will lead to more dialogue about stalking, dating violence and other campus threats.
“We need safer and healthier campus environments for everyone,” she said.
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