Month: September 2015

PR: Survey Labeled Students as Sex Offenders for Violating Policy that Didn’t Exist

Post author By saveadmin
Post date September 23, 2015

Contact: Gina Lauterio

Survey Labeled Students as Sex Offenders for Violating Policy that Didn’t Exist:

SAVE Calls on AAU to Retract Flawed Campus Study

WASHINGTON / September 23, 2015 – A widely publicized survey on campus sexual assault by the Association of American Universities (AAU) classified male students as violators of affirmative consent policies, even when such policies were not in existence on the campus at the time the survey was conducted. SAVE is calling for AAU to retract the survey and recalculate its findings.

On September 21, the AAU released its Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, which was conducted at 27 colleges around the nation. The survey reported that 23.1% of female undergraduates experience sexual assault or sexual misconduct sometime during their college careers.

The survey defined “sexual misconduct” to include failure to obtain affirmative consent. But affirmative consent is a controversial, possibly unconstitutional policy, and most colleges had not implemented the policy when AAU fielded the survey in April 2015.

An internet search of the terms “affirmative consent,” “student handbook,” and the name of each university reveals that at the time the AAU survey was conducted:

— For 15 out of the 27 colleges, no affirmative consent policy was in place when the survey was conducted

— For 9 colleges, an affirmative consent policy is currently in place, but the date of implementation is unknown

— For 3 colleges, affirmative consent policy was known to be in place when the AAU survey was carried out

The AAU report makes the claim that 11.4% of undergraduate females were “victimized” by the absence of affirmative consent. But for at least 15 out of the 27 colleges, no affirmative consent policy was in place. Therefore, absence of affirmative consent cannot be considered to represent sexual misconduct at these institutions, and the 23.1% female victimization figure is substantially over-stated

“Only in an Orwellian world would students be smeared as sex offenders for violating a policy that didn’t even exist,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “The Association of American Universities needs to retract the survey and recalculate its findings based on whether an affirmative consent policy was in place when the survey was conducted.”

The AAU survey has been criticized for its low response rate, its failure to adequately explain “incapacitation” to respondents, and other reasons. A listing of the status of the affirmative consent policies for the 27 colleges can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/aau-survey/

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is working to promote effective solutions to campus sexual assault: http://www.saveservices.org/

Campus Sexual Assault

PR: Law Professors Voice Concerns Over ‘Affirmative Consent’ Policies for Sex

Post author By saveadmin
Post date September 9, 2015

Contact: Gina Lauterio

Email: info@saveservices.org

Law Professors Voice Concerns Over ‘Affirmative Consent’ Policies for Sex

WASHINGTON / September 9, 2015 – A growing number of legal scholars are expressing concerns over affirmative consent policies that some universities are considering for implementation. The concerns follow recent passage of laws in California and New York mandating such policies on college campuses.

This past week, Tamara Rice Lave of the University of Miami law school wrote on her blog, “I have a problem with legally requiring affirmative consent. I don’t see how making a person prove that her partner consented doesn’t switch the burden of proof to the accused…I find this trend to be extremely troubling.” http://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2015/09/affirmative-consent-and-switching-the-burden-of-proof.html

Nadine Strossen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union and current professor at New York Law School, recently noted, “These affirmative consent rules violate rights of due process and privacy. They reverse the usual presumption of innocence. Unless the guy can prove that his sexual partner affirmatively consented to every single contact, he is presumed guilty of sexual misconduct.” http://news.hamlethub.com/ridgefield/events/48981-former-aclu-president-nadine-strossen-will-be-the-keynote-speaker-at-wcsu-s-constitution-day

Professor Corey Yung at the University of Kansas worries that affirmative consent policies are ineffective and may turn out to be harmful to victims: “because the gains of the rule are likely to be minimal, the net effect for rape victims and justice will likely be negative.” http://concurringopinions.com/archives/2014/10/californias-college-rape-rule-is-probably-a-bad-idea-but-not-for-the-reasons-the-critics-say.html

In his law review article, Touro Law School professor Richard Klein undertook a detailed analysis of state rape statutes and concluded, “Instead of the historical requirement that the state prove each element of the offense – and lack of consent is the crucial element – it may well now be the case that the defendant must prove that there was consent by a preponderance of the evidence.” http://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1075&context=scholarlyworks

On August 4, judge Carol McCoy overturned a decision of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to expel a student on allegations of sexual assault. McCoy ruled the university “improperly shifted the burden of proof…Absent the tape recording of a verbal consent or other independent means to demonstrate that consent was given, the ability of an accused to prove the complaining party’s consent strains credulity and is illusory.” https://kcjohnson.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/memorandum-mock.pdf

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is working to promote effective solutions to campus sexual assault: http://www.saveservices.org/

Sexual Assault

PR: Due Process Gains Momentum, Moves to Center Stage in Campus Sexual Assault Debate

Post author By saveadmin
Post date September 1, 2015

Contact: Gina Lauterio

Email: info@saveservices.org

Due Process Gains Momentum, Moves to Center Stage in Campus Sexual Assault Debate

WASHINGTON / September 1, 2015 – A renewed focus on due process for students accused of sexual assault has emerged in recent months, as indicated by expressions of concern by law professors, a new federal legislative initiative, key judicial decisions, evolving media coverage, and upcoming public events.

The shift in the debate can be traced to public critiques of university sexual assault policies by faculty members at Harvard Law School, and later at Penn Law. In May, 70 legal scholars wrote the American Law Institute regarding a proposed Model Penal Code on Sexual Assault that would over-criminalize sexual contact and remove the presumption of innocence: http://lcbackerblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/sexual-assualt-at-american-law.html

In July, the Safe Campus Act was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill assigns lead investigative responsibility to local police and delineates a series of due process protections. The bill has been endorsed by the National District Attorneys Association, National Association of Scholars, and six other groups: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/safe-campus-act/

Four judicial decisions in the past two months have overturned the findings of campus sex tribunals for due process violations. The decisions involved the University of California-San Diego, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Washington and Lee University, and University of Southern California: http://www.saveservices.org/2015/08/pr-four-rulings-four-reversals-judges-give-thumbs-down-on-campus-sex-tribunals/

Columnists have increasingly emphasized the need for due process and restoration of the presumption of innocence in campus assault cases. Over 600 editorials have been published in 2015 alone: http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/editorials/2015-2/

To date, 80 lawsuits have been filed against universities alleging due process violations: http://www.avoiceformalestudents.com/list-of-lawsuits-against-colleges-and-universities-alleging-due-process-violations-in-adjudicating-sexual-assault/

During upcoming months, two events will further explore the need for due process protections:

On September 16, a public debate in New York City will examine the proposition, Courts, Not Campuses, Should Decide Sexual Assault Cases: http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/upcoming-debates/item/1402-courts-not-campuses-should-decide-sexual-assault-cases

On October 8, an event titled Due Process Goes to School: How to Handle Campus Sexual Assault Cases will take place in Washington, DC: http://www.heritage.org/events/2015/10/due-process-goes-to-school

“Due process represents a pillar of the American legal system,” notes SAVE spokesperson Sheryle Hutter. “Sadly, campus activists have ignored this fundamental precept for much too long.”

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments is working to promote effective solutions to campus sexual assault: http://www.saveservices.org/