The Clery Act Analysis

On the topic of sexual assault on campuses, Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights and James Moore, Compliance Manager of the Clery Act discussed ways to further combat sexual assault on college campuses. Lhamon and Moore focused on the improvements made to the reporting of sexual assault, positive changes made to the judicial proceedings on campuses, and the improved punishment of perpetrators. The members of the committee hearing did not deny the importance of combating sexual assault. However, members did disagree on the methods to effectively decrease sexual assault and increase overall reporting of victims. Members disagreed the most on the enforcement mechanism, which was made more controversial by the differences in opinion on the accuracy of reporting, and the guidance authority of the Department of Education. This ballot will address the panel discussion on these

Abstract: Sexual Violence is more prevalent at college campuses compared to other crimes. According to RAINN, the nations largest anti- sexual violence organization, “11.2% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students)” (“Campus sexual violence,” n.d.). Most recently, the case of Brock Allen Turner has made headlines nation wide. Brock Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer was charged of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

As the website “DoSomething.org” states, “1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted while at college.” Of these sexual assault victims, “4 out of 5 rape victims subsequently suffer from chronic physical or psychological conditions.” (“11 Facts”). These victims “are 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than are people who have not been victims of a crime” (“11 Facts”). The troubles that face sexual assault victims and the families of those victims pose a huge threat not only to the government regarding costs and reactions of the people of the United States, but an even larger threat to past, present, and future victims of sexual assault. Any further protection for these victims from the government would certainly help the victims, the families of the victims, and the people of

When such prevalent policies like the Clery Act and Title IX exist on college campuses and for college campuses, many people would believe that those policies are enough in regards to sexual assault and rape on campuses. However, there are far more policy recommendations that could be put in place. Females and males alike, through education, can become aware of what Title IX and the Clery Act are. Awareness about current policies can lead to more people reaching out and coming forward about any incidents they have faced during their time in college. Many colleges do happen to send students and give students access to these policies but they are often ignored. Know the policies implemented and know who is the coordinator of these policies. Far too often, people like to believe that sexual assault and rape incidents rarely occur but that is not the case. Title IX and the Clery Act policies are there for a reason.

‘Sexual Violence is more than just a crime against individuals. It threatens our families; it threatens our communities. Ultimately, it threatens the entire country’ (qtd. in Burleigh pg. 2). In the article, “Confronting Campus Rape” written by Nina Burleigh; a writer, journalist, and professor at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, describes what students are doing to force universities to take a stronger stand against campus sexual assault. Moreover Burleigh describes what the government is doing to make a difference on the issue. This includes laws that have created consequences for the assaulter and laws that protect the victim. According to Burleigh, a young woman called Laura Dunn was sexually assaulted on campus. Dunn was a student of UW. On April 4th, 2014, Dunn lost her virginity to two UW athletes. That night, Dunn was attending a party at the university. Dunn was enjoying the party and lost count of her alcohol intake. Dunn remembers being led out by two older teammates, who she knew. Dunn was very intoxicated, enough to stumble on her way back to what she thought would be another campus party, as one of the athletes helped her walk. The athletes led Dunn to one of their apartments where she found herself on a bed with both of them on top of her. Dunn was so intoxicated that she couldn’t help but to drift in and out of conscious leaving her unable to stop the two men. Dunn began to feel sick and was led to the bathroom by one of the athletes, where he penetrated her from behind while she was throwing up. That was a date Dunn would never forget. Dunn like many other women at the UW have been sexually abused by other students. Although Dun’s incident is shocking, it is not uncommon for women to be sexually assaulted on campus. A woman at the  university of Wisconsin is more prone to being sexually assaulted than any other woman in the country because of alcohol intoxication; this is a problem that must be resolved.

According to Nancy Chi Cantalupo, writer in the University Chicago Law Journal, “twenty to twenty-five percent of college women are victims of attempted or completed nonconsensual sex” (Burying Our Heads 207). In October 2014, an eighteen-year-old freshman at Old Dominion University was sexually assaulted. She reported her case to the ODU Police Department where she was treated as a suspect rather than a victim (Jane). The university police department denied this young woman of many things such as a medical examination right away, food, drinks and even did not allow her to use the bathroom (Jane). These factors caused her to suffer multiple injuries mentally, emotionally, and physically (Jane). Many cases of on campus sexual assault has come

(3) Schools must be proactive in ensuring that your campus is free of sex discrimination. If a school knows or reasonably should know about discrimination, harassment or violence that is creating a “hostile environment” for any student, it must act to eliminate it, remedy the harm caused and prevent its recurrence. (4) They must also have a procedure for handling complaints of sex discrimination/sexual harassment or sexual violence; (5) the school must also take IMMEDIATE ACTION when a complaint is filled to ensure that the victims can progress with their education. (6) Your school may not retaliate against someone filing a complaint and must keep a victim safe from other retaliatory harassment or behavior. (7) Your school can issue a no contact directive under Title IX to prevent the accused student from approaching or interacting with you. (8) In cases of sexual violence, your college is prohibited from encouraging or allowing mediation (rather than a formal hearing) of the complaint. (9) Your college should not make you pay the costs of certain accommodations that you require in order to continue your education after experiencing

“One in five women are sexually assaulted while in college” (Not Alone, 2014). In our class of twenty women that means that possibly five women have been sexually assaulted. Out of the five women that I stated could have been sexually assaulted they may have known the perpetrator and often will not report what has happened. According to the spring count of students completed by West Chester University, 9,211 of those students were females (“Headcount Enrollment”, 2014). If I go by the statistic mentioned earlier that one in five women is assaulted that would mean that 1,842 women have been sexually assaulted while enrolled at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Out of 1,842 possible assaults only four were reported last year. Two of which the victims knew prior to the assault. Rankin and Associates consulting conducted a Climate Assessment on West Chester University in September of 2010, a section of the results focused on sexual assault on students. According to the report seven people who reported a sexual assault to the university described their reactions to the universities response. Two students shared the way they felt the response was inappropriate or poor. One described that they felt the suspension for one semester was not an appropriate response to an admitted rape, that public safety lost the victims statement, judicial affairs painted the victim offender as innocent, and that the registrar protected the offender putting the victim in harm’s way and everyone

When congress passed the gender-equality law known as Title IX (1972) more than 40 years ago, no one expected it to make colleges responsible for handling sexual assault. Title IX was a “stealth law” aimed at helping women get through the doors of higher education and is now being interpreted to require colleges to investigate and resolve students reports of rape, determining whether their classmates are responsible for assault and, if so, what the punishment should be. (Wilson, Paragraph 1-2) The term Sexual Assault was defined by the district as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. With that definition, the term on campus was

Despite federal laws issued to combat sexual violence, each year 4,000 college women report to school officials that they've been sexually assaulted. What happens after they file those reports has stirred debate on campuses across the country, leaving parents and students fearful that colleges may not be the ivory towers of security and integrity that appear on their recruitment pamphlets.

Until the 1998 amendments, incidents were only reported when a student was arrested for such a violation. The regulations now require institutions to report violations in situations where there was either an arrest or a disciplinary referral. Second, the Clery Act authorizes institutions to implement policies that allow parental notification when the student is under twenty-one (Harshman, Puro, Wolff 15).” When a student is found guilty of sexual assault the punishment is more law based rather than their education. ” Under the Clery Act, the school becomes allied with law enforcement, where the emphasis is on the punishment of offenses rather than the student’s education (Harshman, Puro, Wolff 16).” The main point of the Clery Act is that it is your responsibility to report something you see that is not right. By doing this you could help save someone’s life. These campaigns haven’t been the end solution to this ongoing problem but it has helped over the years.

Sexual assault has been a huge issue for many years on college campuses and universities nation wide. As society has evolved, thoughts on sexual assault have also evolved, becoming more focused on the details of victim treatment than ever before. The topic of sexual assault is debatable and sparks many opinions on weather sexual assault on college campuses is becoming more frequent, or if there is just heightened awareness. Sexual assault can happen to anybody no matter the gender, race, religion, or age. Recently there have been many studies conducted on sexual violence on college campuses and universities producing ample amounts of statistics. One may argue that sexual assault rates are the same, but there are simply more studies and attention on sexual assault in the past 20 years. Gender roles have played a huge part in sexual assault on college campuses. Women and men have different expectations when it comes to roles in the relationship, men are often expected to make the first move. One may ask what causes a perpetrator to sexually harass somebody and think it is acceptable. There are various reasons as to why perpetrators do what they do, and may vary from person to person. Although sexual violence is a large problem for many colleges and universities, there is a surprising shortage of federal laws/rules and regulations regarding sexual assault. Colleges are able to develop their own personal policies and procedures for how they will prevent and deal with sexual

A late arrangement of profoundly exposed campus sexual assaults and the flawed reactions by the scholastic organizations where they happened, has driven some policymakers and academic administrators to call for administrative and institutional change. For such changes to be powerful, academic administrators and officials need arrangements that successfully secure victims, discipline culprits, and inspire institutional compliance with appropriate legislation. Moreover, there has been huge level headed discussion about how much the criminal justice system can and ought to be included when sexual assaults happen on school grounds. To address these inquiries, there should be a more intensive comprehension of existing state sexual assault laws and their ability to handle sexual assault that happen on school grounds.

In this article that sexual assaults between students are not only happening on college campuses but greatly moving into middle and high schools. In this story, we hear about a 13-year-old girl who was raped by a classmate. The boy videotaped himself penetrating the girls mouth and anus. She did not know that he had filmed it and to her surprise was later all over social media. She said this was not consensual sex. After everyone knew about the incident they all blamed her asking her why she didn't fight back or get away. She did not know what to do at the moment because she was scared. When she finally reported her rape to the school they denied her the right to the Title IX law in which every school who is funded must inform students and

The Washington Post revealed a survey that stated that more than 1 in 5 female undergraduates at top schools suffer sexual attacks while in college.The survey revealed the top 27 universities with the highest sexual assault incidents.The university with the highest number of sexual misconducts was the University of Michigan. As current president of the University of Michigan you do not want to be acknowledged as the school with the highest number of sexual assault incidents; therefore something has to be done.The issue of sexual misconduct in the University of Michigan needs to be addressed, this issue needs to be taken seriously to protect the life of women enrolled in the this university. Sexual assault is an issue that cannot