Students who have been the victim of sexual assaults on college campuses face a
depressing litany of barriers that often either assure their silence or leave
them feeling victimized a second time, according to the Center for Public Integrity's nine-month investigation Sexual Assault on Campus: A Frustrating Search for Justice.
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This important project was informed by interviews with 48 experts
familiar with the college disciplinary process -- student affairs administrators, conduct hearing officers, assault services directors, and victim advocate -- as well as 33 students who reported being raped.
Nearly half the students interviewed by the Center for this project reported they unsuccessfully sought criminal charges; district attorneys often shy away from such cases, because they are "he said, she said" disputes sometimes clouded by drugs or alcohol. That often leaves students to deal with a campus judiciary system shrouded in secrecy. Those who do come forward can encounter mysterious disciplinary proceedings, closed-mouth school administrations and off-the-record negotiations. At times, official school policies lead to dropped complaints and, in some cases, gag orders later found to be illegal. College administrators believe the existing processes provide a fair and effective way to deal with ultra-sensitive allegations, but alleged victims say these processes have little transparency or accountability, and regularly result in little or no punishment for alleged assailants.
Accompanied by multimedia features including interviews with student survivors and
a toolkit to help students, parents, educators and administrators explore this issue in their own campus communities, these first reports in an ongoing series tell a powerful story about the need for transparency and accountability in classic Center fashion.
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