Pin the Tail

“It takes two people to speak the truth: One to speak and another to hear.” – Henry David Thoreau

I heard a familiar voice on the radio yesterday…it is amazing to hear a woman tell a story that will have a tremendous impact towards shattering the silence…

NPR is running an investigative news series about Seeking Justice for Campus Rapes. Two segments in the series are about a rape victim on the campus of Indiana University. Here is today’s important story by journalist Joseph Shapiro. You can hear an audio recording, or read the story, by clicking here: College Justice Falls Short for Rape Victim

You can also listen to part one of the story about the Indiana University student, Margaux, by clicking here: Failed Justice Leaves Rape Victim Nowhere to Turn

Part 4 of the series of investigative reports will air on Morning Edition on March 3rd: One reason colleges have a hard time stopping sexual assault is a misconception about who is committing these crimes. The assumption is that rapes are often committed by young men whose judgment is impaired from drinking. But University of Massachusetts forensic psychologist David Lisak says most are serial predators.

Findings of the Center for Public Integrity and NPR News Investigation:
— Colleges almost never expel men who are found responsible for sexual assault. Reporters at CPI discovered a database of about 130 colleges and universities given federal grants because they wanted to do a better job dealing with sexual assault. But the database shows that even when men at those schools were found responsible for sexual assault, only 10 to 25 percent of them were expelled.

— The U.S. Department of Education has failed to aggressively monitor and regulate campus response to sexual assault. The department has the authority to fine schools that fail to report crime on campus. In 20 years, the department has used that power just six times. And the department can also find that a school has violated a law that prevents discrimination against women. But between 1998 and 2008, the department ruled against just five universities out of 24 resolved complaints.

— Colleges are ill-equipped to handle cases of sexual assault. Most of the time, alcohol is involved. Local prosecutors are reluctant to take these cases, so they often fall to campus judicial systems to sort through clashing claims of whether the sex was consensual or forced.

Thanks to Margaux and NPR for their part in demanding better justice.