Contact: Rebecca Stewart
Telephone: 513-479-3335
Email: info@saveservices.org
New Sexual Assault Regulation Will Benefit Victims, For Numerous Reasons
WASHINGTON / May 8, 2020 – SAVE is today releasing an analysis that enumerates the many ways by which the newly released Title IX regulation will benefit victims of campus sexual assault. Title IX is the federal law that bans sex discrimination in schools. The new regulation was released on Wednesday by the Department of Education (1).
Titled, “Analysis: New Title IX Regulation Will Support and Assist Complainants in Multiple Ways,” the SAVE report identifies seven broad ways that the new federal regulation benefits victims and survivors:
- Establishes a legally enforceable duty of universities to respond to such cases in a timely manner.
- Requires the school to investigate allegations of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and harassment.
- Requires the school to offer complainants supportive measures, such as class or dorm reassignments or no-contact orders, even if an investigation is not initiated.
- Defines the procedures to properly investigate and adjudicate such complaints.
- Promotes victim autonomy by allowing the complainant to participate in dispute resolution or withdraw a complaint if desired.
- Ensures complainants are not required to disclose any confidential medical, psychological, or similar records.
- Discourages minor complaints that tend to dilute the availability of resources and harm the credibility of future victims.
Nashville attorney Michelle Owens provides examples of lawsuits from her own practice that fall into the category of minor and trivial complaints:
- A student who was charged under Title IX for allegedly touching a girl on her head. This was not on a date or in a romantic setting.
- One client was charged for sexual misconduct for touching a student on her elbow at a dance because he was trying to move her out of the way of another person.
- One male student was charged for giving an honest compliment to a friend on her outfit.
The new SAVE document identifies 28 legally enforceable provisions in the new regulation that will benefit and support victims. Three examples of these provisions are: “Complainants are assured that unwelcome conduct that is severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive will not be tolerated at their institution;” “Complainants are assured that respondents that are deemed an immediate threat to safety will be removed from campus;” and “Complainants must be provided an advisor free of charge to conduct cross-examination on their behalf.”
SAVE has identified numerous cases in which campus disciplinary committees, sometimes derisively referred to as “kangaroo courts,” have shortchanged victims (2). The Independent Women’s Forum argues that “Survivors should praise efforts to ensure that disciplinary decisions are not overturned by courts or regarded as illegitimate in the court of public opinion.” (3)
There is no evidence that the previous campus policies have succeeded in reducing campus sexual assault. A recent report from the American Association of Universities revealed an actual increase in campus sexual assaults from 2015 to 2019 (4).
The SAVE analysis is available online: http://www.saveservices.org/2020/05/analysis-new-title-ix-regulation-will-support-and-assist-complainants-in-multiple-ways/
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