Female Students who were Sexually Assaulted Sue Emerson College for Civil Rights Violations

The day after an Emerson College student was raped by two assailants, one of them a fellow Emerson College student, the survivor reported the rape to the College. Their response? Don't make a big deal about it! What? Several months later, they get around to starting an investigation (as they are legally required to do under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act), and during that investigation (which of course exonerates the rapist), he rapes her again!! Okay, I'm no rocket scientist, but I DO know that this is precisely one MAJOR thing that Title IX was designed to PREVENT. THEN, the school tells the SURVIVOR (note: NOT the perp) to take a semester off!! Again, one MAJOR thing Title IX is designed to prevent is the denial of equal educational opportunities for women as a result of gender-motivated violence. Smooth move, Emerson.

Well now, thankfully, this brave survivor, along with other survivors from Emerson College, have filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school. I am glad to see more and more of these cases being filed in recent years. Maybe now there will actually be some accountability in this area.

Emerson College Told Sexual Assault Victim Not To Make Big Deal Of Attack: Complaint - Huffington Post

Title IX Investigations All Over the Country Halted by Government Shutdown

There is at least one group of people that is actually benefitting from the federal government shutdown over the past week: college rapists!! The U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is typically charged with compliance and enforcement of the sexual assault investigations happening (or, more commonly, not happening) on all higher education campuses across the country that receive federal funding. However, as a result of the shutdown, OCR is 94% shut down as well and will not able to do its job. This of course will lead to more deficiencies in the way rape complaints are handled at schools around the country. Such services are apparently not essential, according to the government. Bad news bears.

College Sexual Assault Investigations Grind To Halt Due To Shutdown - Huffington Post

Wesleyan University Settles in Title IX Fraternity Rape Lawsuit

There was another Title IX settlement last week in Middleton, Connecticut as well. Wesleyan University settled in a Title IX lawsuit against it, which alleged that the school failed to "supervise, discipline, warn or take other corrective action" against the Beta Theta Pi fraternity after a female student was sexually assaulted at their fraternity house. The lawsuit alleged that the University knew the Beta House, dubbed "The Rape Factory," was a notoriously dangerous place for women and had been the site of multiple previous assaults, but the college failed to take adequate measures to prevent students from future assaults. The survivor, a freshman, did not know about the house's history.

The lawsuit also alleged that the survivor was tormented on campus after the assault by supporters of the Beta House and that the University failed to protect her from this continued harassment and retraumatization. She eventually had to transfer to a different school. The rapist already pleaded guilty last year but received a paltry 15-month prison sentence. Hopefully this courageous survivor will find some peace of mind now that the lawsuit has concluded.

Wesleyan, Frat Settle Conn. Rape Victim's Lawsuit - boston.com

Court Documents Show Settlement In Wesleyan Rape Lawsuit - The Courant

Occidental College in L.A. Settles in Title IX Sexual Assault Lawsuit

At least 10 female students at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA filed a complaint against the college under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act for failing to respond appropriately to their allegations of sexual assault. Although there were only 10 or so plaintiffs in the case, there were at least 37 female students who claimed to have suffered from similar problems with the school. Now, Occidental College and the 10 or so female students have reached a settlement in the case.

Occidental College Settles with Students in Sexual Assault Case - L.A. Times

Colleges and universities who receive federal funding have a legal obligation to protect students from sexual assault under Title IX. Unfortunately, these institutions frequently go to great lengths to silence such allegations and discourage survivors from reporting or pursuing their allegations because of the negative publicity associated with such incidents. The obvious concern is that if potential students find out that a campus is unsafe, they will not want to pay to go to school there. However, a school cannot ignore its obligations under federal civil rights laws in order to advance its own monetary agenda.

There was a landmark case in Colorado a few years ago that made these types of cases easier to pursue. (U. of Colorado at Boulder Settles Lawsuit Over Alleged Rapes at Football Recruiting Party for $2.85 Million - titleix.info.) But they still remain very challenging cases. This is probably one of the few cases of this kind that has actually turned out well for the survivors. Congratulations to them.

Virginia Tech Pays $155,000 to Settle Pay Discrimination Case

Interesting legal chronology in this case: Plaintiff goes all the way through a jury trial, a jury of her peers finds in her favor on BOTH claims, and THEN the judge decides unilaterally to TOSS OUT the jury decision because he did not agree with it, tossing out one claim completely and ordering a new trial on the other claim. I'm not sure what basis the judge had for this, but undermining a jury verdict like that seems entirely unAmerican to me. So the Plaintiff has to go ALL THE WAY through a SECOND jury trial, in which the second jury finds against her on the one remaining claim and she loses, and then all the way through an appeal in which the appeals court reverses the second jury's finding against her and reinstates her one remaining claim--none of which would have happened if the judge would not have gone against the original jury in the first place. What a headache!

Virginia Tech Settles Lawsuit Over Retaliation - Times Dispatch

University of Maryland at College Park Implements New Sexual Violence Intervention and Prevention Program

Here is some good news about sexual assault prevention from the University of Maryland-College Park. UMD is launching a new sexual assault prevention program on campus. The program will educate incoming freshmen about sexual assault awareness and bystander intervention techniques. Although this is only a pilot program to be tested on some students, the University will soon vote on whether to expand the program to all students.

Perhaps the best thing about this program is that one single individual sexual assault survivor was responsible for getting this program in place, which just goes to show you that one person really can have a voice AND make a difference. Hats off to UMD and to that one brave survivor! I hope other campuses will follow UMD's fine example.

Sexual Assault Prevention Pilot Course Implemented for Fall - The Diamondback

UMD Set to Launch Sexual Assault Prevention Program - Feminist Majority Foundation

UMD Set to Launch Sexual Assault Prevention Program - Ms. Magazine

Harvard Business School Tackles Gender Inequality

In this in-depth article, former female students of the Harvard Business School discuss the unbelievably sexist environment they survived. They recall it was even worse than the sexist environments at the financial companies on Wall Street (like BoA/Merrill Lynch). Male students would haze them, threaten them, and all of this was allowed by the school. The biggest problem was the dramatic gap in academic performance between men and women, because women lived in an environment where they were afraid to speak up, and class participation was 50% of the grade. (Test scores, on the other hand, were comparable.)

Things finally changed when Harvard finally hired a female President for the first time ever. The school started holding things like "Hand Raising Seminars," teaching women how to be more assertive in class. When the school finally began to focus on equality and helping women feel safe and succeed, poof! The academic gap disappeared.

Harvard Business School Case Study: Gender Equity - New York Times