A Better Balance: Providing Survivors of Sexual Violence with "Effective Protection" Against Sex Discrimination Through Title IX Complaints

Although gender-based violence has long been recognized as a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title IX, many survivors receive little to no support from their college or university after experiencing violence. In response, an increasing number have sought redress by filing complaints with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Yale law journal 2016-05, Vol.125 (7), p.1-1
Main Authors: Peterson, Alyssa, Ortiz, Olivia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access to education
Colleges & universities
Complaints
Investigations
Protection
Sex discrimination
Survival
Survivor
United States
Violence
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Summary:Although gender-based violence has long been recognized as a form of sex discrimination prohibited under Title IX, many survivors receive little to no support from their college or university after experiencing violence. In response, an increasing number have sought redress by filing complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). But as this Feature demonstrates through interviews with complainants, many wait years for relief in part because OCR currently resolves discrimination faced by individuals at the end of its lengthy investigations of structural issues. We argue that this policy, which can result in complainants experiencing unmitigated discrimination for years, is contrary to a key statutory aim of Title IX: providing "effective protection" to individuals. Furthermore, we charge that OCR, as the agency responsible for enforcing Title IX, has a legal mandate to provide for this protection, and that it can strike a better balance between systemic concerns and individual interests through establishing consistent guidelines for communicating with complainants; setting a maximum threshold of two years after the case is opened for investigating and resolving complaints; creating a corps of specialized investigators to handle cases; and acting, when possible, to protect an individual's ability to access education while investigations are ongoing. [web URL: http://www.yalelawjournal.org/feature/a-better-balance-effective-protection-through-title-ix-complaints]
ISSN:0044-0094
1939-8611