Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced new rules that will let schools get away with ignoring sexual assault and intimidate sexual assault survivors out of reporting.
Specifically, the rules will radically change Title IX, the civil rights law that ensures all genders have equal access to education. DeVos will allow schools to ignore sexual violence that happens off campus, where many assaults happen–even an assault at a party, for example, just a block away from campus. Not only that, DeVos will force survivors to be cross-examined by advisers or representatives of their abusers—an intentionally intimidating process that will prevent many survivors from reporting altogether.1
But we can stop these changes from becoming official. Before these proposed rules can go into effect, the Department of Education must make them available for public comment and then address the concerns raised in the comments. If they don’t, they will face legal challenges to the new rules, or Congress could even intervene.
We need an outpouring of comments to fight this rule. Can you submit your comment today?
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Here are a few of the most dangerous changes in the rules. They will:4One in five women is sexually assaulted while in college or university.3 Devos' rules further rig the system for abusers.
- Allow sexual assault survivors to be cross examined, possibly leading to more trauma or the survivor avoiding reporting at all.
- Allow schools to ignore sexual assault or harassment that happens at off campus bars or parties, or harassment that occurs online, even though the survivor may still see or have to interact with their abuser on campus.
- Allow schools to only address the worst cases of sexual harassment and abuse, which would make survivors suffer through increasingly worse abuse before they can seek help from the school.
- Limit survivors’ ability to get help by drastically limiting who students can report their assaults to. This will allow schools and universities to ignore reports of sexual harassment and assault made to the majority of employees trusted by students, such as support staff or Resident Assistants (RAs).
- Totally exempt religiously affiliated schools from complying with Title IX requirements if they cite a specific "religious tenet," without notifying the Department of Education, leaving students in the dark about their rights until it's too late.
All told, these changes will put more students at risk and make it extremely difficult for survivors to report their abuse. Students of color, students with disabilities, low-income students, undocumented students, and LGBTQ students will especially suffer since they already face increased barriers to justice because of systemic racism, homophobia, ableism, the negative impact that sexual trauma has on one's grades, and the financial blow that results from possible legal battles with their attacker.
The Trump Administration and its allies have learned nothing from the groundswell of opposition to putting a rapist like Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court or the incredible advocacy of the #MeToo movement. They continue to support, empower, and protect abusers and rape apologists over the needs and rights of survivors at a time when survivors need more protection to safely pursue their education, not less.
- the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, Federal Register, accessed December 6, 2018
2. Tipped Workers Claim Victory Against “Tip-Stealing” Rule, The American Prospect, March 23, 2018
3. Statistics about Sexual Violence, National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2015
4. DeVos’ Proposed Changes to Title IX, Explained, National Women's Law Center, accessed December 7, 2018
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