Guest post from Merrie Soltis:
Last week, former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison -what will surely be a life sentence- for sexually abusing his patients.
Nassar’s case has provoked nationwide outrage that a sexual predator was allowed to harm so many girls and young women for so long. Despite years of complaints from victims to coaches, gymnastics officials and college administrators, nobody ever contacted the police. Michigan State University, which employed Dr. Nassar, conducted a Title IX investigation that actually cleared him of any wrongdoing. That should prove just how useless Title IX investigations are.
But State Senator Fran Millar, Chairman of Georgia’s Higher Education Committee has decided not to proceed with legislation to reform sexual assault reporting on college campuses because the federal government “is reviewing the issue.” Secretary of Education Betsy Devos has rescinded the so-called “Dear Colleague” letter created during the Obama administration that changed – some have said “weaponized” – the way sexual assault reports were handled by colleges.
The legislation proposed in Georgia was prompted by concern that accused students were being deprived of their due process rights. In the years since the “Dear Colleague” letter, there have been several high-profile cases in which colleges clearly abused their authority. A USC football player was expelled for raping his girlfriend, even though she testified to his innocence. An Amherst student was expelled for rape despite evidence that he was the victim of sexual assault by his accuser. A student at the University of Tennessee was charged with sexual harassment for writing his teacher’s name incorrectly on a quiz.
But there are even more disturbing cases where victims’ rights were violated by Title IX hearings. A Stoney Brook University student was forced to prepare her own prosecution against the student who assaulted her. The University of Tennessee also had to pay out a $2.48 million settlement to female students who had been sexually assaulted.
Title IX has also been used to prosecute a professor for writing an editorial on student-teacher relationships. RA’s at UMass claimed that telling Harambe jokes was a Title IX violation. And the student accused of rape by the “mattress toting” protester sued Columbia University for violating HIS rights under Title IX, and won.
The Nassar case shows that these investigations are completely inadequate for prosecuting sex offenders. Michigan State allowed 3 doctors, one of whom was a friend of Nassar’s, to conduct the investigation. They found no wrongdoing by Nassar, but apparently the victims were given a copy of the report that deleted their finding that Nassar’s failure to “adequately explain procedures such as these invasive, sensitive procedures, is opening the practice up to liability and is exposing patients to unnecessary trauma based on the possibility of perceived inappropriate sexual misconduct,”
In an interview, Michelle Owens, an attorney in Tennessee who specializes in Title IX cases said that by allowing colleges and universities to hold their own prosecutions of sexual assault investigations “We have decided that girls attending college are worth more than girls who don’t.” Many victims-rights groups oppose attempts to require colleges to bring in law enforcement because it’s too traumatizing for the victims. But Owens, who is also a counselor for victims, maintains that having to repeat their stories numerous times for college officials is equally traumatic.
The state legislature shouldn’t delay action while waiting for the federal government to decide on process. “Nothing has really changed, said Owens, “We need to make sure that we have laws on the books that protect everyone regardless of who is in power.”
Because Betsy Devos won’t always be the Secretary of Education, but sexual assault will always be a crime. It will be a crime whether it happens to a college student or the clerk at WalMart. Title IX investigations treat felonies like they are mere rules infractions. They violate the principle of equal treatment under the law. They trample the rights of the accused and the victims. The State Legislature needs to act -and protect ALL Georgia residents- not just those residing on campus.