Since I have been in college, I have become increasingly aware of the prevalence of sexual assault. I’ve always watched Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and I have always been warned about being safe at parties and never walking alone at night. It just seems like in this environment, it is disturbingly overlooked and underreported. More bothersome is that frequently, it isn’t handled correctly by law enforcement or administrators on campuses. With songs like Blurred Lines and education centered on victims preventing rape instead of teaching perpetrators or potential perpetrators not to rape, breed an environment where sexual violence is prevalent. In college, people blame alcohol for being assaulted and confusion as an excuse to assault. Saying someone is “asking for it” because she wore a mini skirt or blaming someone for being a tease and claiming she “wanted it” are increasingly popular. It seems to keep getting worse. Over time, the anger and frustration concerning the lack of concern and justice for victims has lead to changes. Fortunately, because of something called Title IX, as young women at a university, we are guaranteed the protocol and attention needed to properly handle sexual assault. Despite how wonderful this legislative tool is, it is useless if you do not know about it. So, I’m going to explain what it is, what it does, and why you need to know what it can do for you as a woman.
First, you need to realize why you should care about this at all. One in four women will survive sexual assault or an attempted assault by the time she graduates college.* That alone is reason to care about this. Statistically, that means you or one of your friends will be a victim of assault or an attempted assault before graduation. The problem for many survivors is they don’t realize they were assaulted or they are afraid to come forward. They fear that there won’t be enough evidence or that the police won’t help or that everyone will know that it happened. They don’t understand that as a victim, they have rights. Those rights are thanks to Title IX and something called the Clery Act. These two things give you certain rights and are laws to be abided by on every university campus.
To explain Title IX in the most basic terms, it does 9 different things for you:
1. It is a federal civil right that prohibits sexual discrimination in schools. It means that no one can discriminate you for being pregnant or being a female in a male dominated area of study. It prohibits any form of sexual violence. It describes sexual violence as attempted or completed rape, sexual assault, harassment, stalking, voyeurism, exhibitionism, any kind of threat or abuse (verbal or physical) and intimate abuse by a partner.
- It protects males, females, and any student that does not want to conform to a specific gender. It also protects faculty and staff from sexual discrimination, harassment and violence.
- Schools are responsible for making sure there is no sexual discrimination. Basically, you are protected even if it doesn’t happen to you. Schools are to immediately handle and prevent sexual discrimination, harassment or violence. They must not only handle and stop these things, but also prevent them from happening, giving you a safe environment.
- Every school must have a Title IX coordinator that handles any complaints of sexual discrimination, harassment or violence. The coordinator contact information will be available to the public and on the university website. Regardless of if you report it to the police, if you file the Title IX complaint with the university, they must investigate it and has one semester’s time to do so successfully. The university is to gather evidence and determines there was any discrimination, harassment or violence and if they conclude that there was any at all, there must be an appropriate level of discipline. The decision will be provided for you and the accused in writing and either of you have the right to appeal the final decision at any point.
- If a complaint is filed, a school must make sure that any necessary changes to your living situation, schedule, job, or any other activities will be made to prevent contact with the accused person and prevent any more discrimination, harassment or violence from interfering with school. These steps can be taken before a formal complaint is filed, before the investigation, hearing or decision. It can continue even after a decision is given in order to assure you a safe and comfortable environment. These changes must not burden you or limit your opportunities or education. The school has the right to force an accused person to change activities, schedules or classes to assure there is no contact.
- Schools are required to confront and handle any complaint of sexual discrimination, harassment or violence. They must assure that the accused person does not retaliate and they are not aloud to work against the victim or complaint, and instead must handle it appropriately and help accommodate the student. If the institution retaliates or does not cooperate in any way, a formal complaint should be filed to the U.S. Department of Education.
- Schools have the right to issues something called a no contact directive which prevents the accused person from contacting or interacting with you at all, be it in person or any other means. Police have can enforce these directives and while this is not a court-issued restraining order, it can protect you on campus and they school can help you take the steps to get a restraining order if needed.
- Schools are not allowed to encourage or allow mediation instead of a formal hearing. This means that the school can not allow a mediation between the accused and the victim but can offer other options. Requesting a disciplinary hearing for the accused is a right and decision of yours. The school is prohibited from swaying you from having a formal hearing. If in a formal hearing the accused is allowed to question you as a victim, it is encouraged that you seek help from the U.S. Department of Education.
- The school can not prevent you or discourage you from resuming or continuing your education. The purpose of Title IX is to protect victims of sexual discrimination, harassment or violence and give them a safe and comfortable environment to handle the situation as necessary and still continue their education. Schools are prohibited from encouraging you to quit or take breaks from any activities or your education. Essentially, the school is required to make adjustments to make sure you can continue your education in the proper environment.
Now, the Clery Act is another piece of legislation that has helped to protect sexual harassment, discrimination or violence victims. It is a federal law created in honor of Jeanne Clery, a girl that was raped and murdered in her dorm in 1986. The Act requires that colleges report all on-campus crimes and safety policies. It is available each year on the Annual Security Report which is on every school’s website. This Act also requires schools to notify students as soon as possible when there is known danger on campus. The Act also ensures that educational programs, the school disciplinary process, and rights of a victim are respected on every campus. It makes sure that students know the policies and the protocol for handling sexually based violations. It requires the college to keep you safe by providing you with proper information, statistics, and rights.
So, if you still don’t understand how this applies to you or why it matters, then you’re missing something. These two important pieces of legislation keep you safe, protects your rights, and keeps you in the best possible environment to handle the situation and continue your education. Statistically, you or someone you know will be sexually assaulted while in college. If you don’t care about these laws or aren’t worried about these problems, you’re missing something because this affects you. Knowing your rights incase something happens to you or a friend is best to know now incase something does happen instead of waiting until after something happens. Remember your rights and do a little bit of research. All of this information can be found at www.KNOWYOURIX.org and the organization also provides information, definitions, and resources to help in dealing with sexual violence or discrimination. Remember that stopping sexual assault has to start with knowledge and awareness. We can’t exercise our rights if we don’t know them. Stop sexual violence and know your IX.
*found at Knowyourix.org
Photo Source: safercampus.org