Sexual assault never stops being a hot-button issue on college campuses.

And with last week’s arrest of a freshman basketball player on charges of sexual abuse, the discussion just got more pressing at Syracuse University.

But as this case moves forward, federal government action on sexual assault is taking a step back. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced earlier this month that the Trump Administration plans to rescind Title IX investigation protocol put into place under former President Obama’s administration, leaving countless college sexual assault victims at risk.

DeVos said we have a “failed system” for both victims and those accused. Her approach would consider both the narratives of the victims and their perpetrators — a necessary process for any criminal investigation. The problem comes in how DeVos said it.

“One aggressive act of harassment is one too many,” DeVos said early in her speech. “One person denied due process is one too many.”

If she’d left it at that, it could’ve been acceptable. But DeVos went on to share story after lengthy story of men wrongly accused of sexual assault and harassment. The one survivor story DeVos brought up only lasted a few sentences.

Yes, those wrongly accused of sexual assault deserve justice. But their stories are rare.

By putting the needs of the accused on the same level as assault victims, DeVos is perpetuating a wildly problematic assumption that women are reporting false rape claims just as often as true ones. Even though only 2 to 10 percent of rape claims turn out to be untrue according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, we know the Trump administration has a history of reporting false crowd sizes.

DeVos’ speech also came with logistical changes, namely in her goal of delegating authority over sexual assault cases to local police. This would transfer cases of assaults off campus to authorities who have a lesser understanding of college culture, and victims will likely still have to deal with the emotional trauma of seeing their assaulter on campus as local police conduct investigations.

Jodi Omear, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network’s Vice President of Communications, said DeVos’s decision is a step backward for the progress made in recent years to responding to sexual assaults on college campuses.

“Any changes to Title IX enforcement must ensure that we build upon the advances made in recent years, and not allow them to be rolled back,” Omear said in an email. “We urge the department to prioritize victims’ rights and needs as they move forward with this process.”

 

Emma Comtois | Design Editor

By reclaiming Title IX’s narrative and leveling the playing field for rapists and their victims, DeVos implies that victims hold responsibility for the crimes committed against them. While it’s unfair to assume someone’s innocence until proven guilty, Title IX needs to be committed to victims first and foremost so they can seek out the justice and treatment necessary to move forward and heal.

Rape cannot become a morally ambiguous act where rapists are justified via a “boys will be boys” mentality. There is no side to pick in this argument — you either condone rape or dismiss it outright.

DeVos’s decision is a painful reminder to victims everyone that, despite the acts committed against you, you will still be expected to hold responsibility for your own assault.

We live in a culture of silence surrounding rape, where the fear of persecution prevents many victims coming forward. When the first questions victims hear after filing an assault are “How much were you drinking?” or “What were you wearing?,” it’s not the system that has failed. It’s us.

Kelsey Thompson is a junior magazine journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at katho101@syr.edu.

Published on September 21, 2017 at 12:48 am