Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Why Colleges Fail at Punishing Rapists, and a Radical Idea for Justice

Sexual Assault on campus is problem that has been receiving unprecedented amounts of attention lately.  Just a few days ago, it was announced that 55 colleges are under investigation for failing to adequately handle sexual assault and create a non-discriminatory environment under Title IX, a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on sex in all institutions that receive federal funding.  It is commonly held that 1 in 4 female students will be assaulted during their time in college, though it must be acknowledged that all such statistics are disputed.  Nevertheless, it is increasingly clear that no American college does anything approaching a decent job of punishing rapists and doing justice to survivors.