Dive Brief:
- The University of Tennessee is the target of a federal lawsuit by six women who claim university leaders created a culture that is ripe for sexual assault, especially by football players, and followed it up with an adjudication process that favors athletes.
- The Tennessean reports the lawsuit accuses five athletes of sexual assault and explains more than a dozen other cases in arguing that the university violated Title IX by creating a hostile environment for female students, naming Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, Vice Chancellor and Athletics Director Dave Hart, and football coach Butch Jones as acting with "deliberate indifference" to the risks of sexual assault.
- The University of Tennessee follows a statewide adjudication process that allows accused students to retain an attorney and question their alleged victims through cross examination, which the female students say amounts to additional harassment.
Dive Insight:
The Obama administration was the first to issue guidance about Title IX that emphasized colleges' responsibilities relating to sexual assault. Since then, the number of students choosing to follow up on the violation of their civil rights has skyrocketed. The Office of Civil Rights has open investigations on more than 150 campuses. Meanwhile, many victims are forgoing their right to report assaults to the police, where it can be addressed as a criminal violation.
University of California system President Janet Napolitano has said the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system in handling sexual assault should offer a motivation to improve it, not shift the responsibility to colleges. But the Know Your IX student-led advocacy group says colleges are uniquely positioned to respond well, if they have proper policies and practices in place. The debate is one that is sure to continue for years to come.