Dive Brief:
- Baylor University is coming under a microscope, again, for its handling of sexual assault allegations from female students accusing college athletes of rape.
- This time, ESPN reports on multiple instances in which the Texas Christian university botched investigations relating to students who were later criminally charged and failed to provide support to the victims.
- A former Baylor sexual assault response advisory board member and local nurse examiner told ESPN that university officials have known about a problem with sexual assaults and athletes for years, that her team does more exams on Baylor sexual assault victims than those from similarly sized schools, and that 25-50% of alleged perpetrators are male athletes, who make up just 4% of the total undergraduate male population.
Dive Insight:
Baylor is the latest institution to be investigated by the media about its handling of sexual assault investigations on campus. Student activists and the Obama administration have taken significant steps to increase scrutiny of institutional responses as well as the climates colleges create or allow. More than 160 postsecondary institutions are under investigation by the Office of Civil Rights relating to Title IX compliance over sexual assault cases. While Baylor is not one of those institutions, current interpretation of the law demands it provide a safe learning environment for all students, including an environment free of sexual assault and harassment. When students’ rape allegations are not handled properly, it is considered a civil rights violation.
But many have argued colleges and universities are not equipped to handle such responsibilities and they consider the Obama administration’s guidance relating to Title IX to have gone too far. Now colleges are being successfully sued for violating the rights of the accused. But where to go from here is still an open question.