Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Sexual violence and the law: what you need to know

A senior at UVA wrote an article entitled "Sexual violence and the law: what you need to know", which makes some excellent points about how difficult this issue is:

I can't tell you how many times I've heard the question, "If we can expel people for cheating on a test, why can't we expel someone for rape?" As someone who has worked on sexual assault prevention and adjudication during her time at U.Va. and as a survivor myself, I feel the deep frustration the apparent paradox generates. And yet, I've come to understand that the seemingly obvious answer—expel them, duh—is constrained by a whole host of federal legislation and precedent. It's not about U.Va. It's about our national system. Many of us live in the glorified legal fiction of "Law & Order: SVU." The realities are far more complex, and sadly, far more bleak. I want to take this opportunity to clarify the frustration with a cursory legal overview of the problems institutions like U.Va. face when confronting the conflict between Title IX and due process.


Sexual violence and the law: what you need to know

Administrators addressing sexual assault on college campuses find themselves caught between Title IX and due-process protections

by Emily Renda | Oct 09 2013 | 10/09/13 10:07pm 

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