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Title IV of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Landmark federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin by any public elementary or secondary school, as well as any public institutions of higher education (42 U.S.C. § 2000c et seq.). This law ended segregation of schools and was the first step toward creating the culturally diverse campuses we see today. -
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
A federal civil rights law prohibiting discrimination against any person in education programs or activities, on the basis of sex. Students have the right to pursue education, including athletic programs, scholarships, and other activities, free from sexual discrimination, including sexual violence or harassment (20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.). One of the primary foci of this law at inception was female college athletes. Today, we hear about it more in relation to sexual violence cases. -
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Baylor University's Sex Discrimination, Sexual Violence, and Sexual Harassment Policy
Title IX Policy at Baylor University
A 29-page policy outlining Baylor's position on these issues, defining key terms, stating Baylor's responsibilities and response to reports or incidents (BUPP, No. 022). It will be interesting to see what, if any changes are made once the outside investigation by Pepper Hamilton, LLP is completed. -
Rape & Murder of Jeanne Clery
Parental Crusade for Campus SafetyAs a freshman at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, Jeanne Clery was raped and murdered in her dorm room by a fellow student. In the aftermath, her parents, Howard & Constance Clery founded Security on Campus, Inc., a non-profit clearinghouse for information on crimes on college campuses and began lobbying for laws requiring colleges and universities to publish their crime statistics. Their efforts resulted in the Clery Act of 1990 (Gross & Fine, 1990). -
The Clery Act
Also known as The Campus Security Policy & Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990, the Clery Act is a consumer protection law that requires all colleges & universities receiving federal financial aid, to report annual statistics on crimes occurring on or near campus, including sexual assault & rape. This act also contains the Campus Sexual Assault Victim’s Bill of Rights, which requires colleges to disclose educational programming, campus disciplinary process, & victim rights (20 U.S.C.§1092(f)). -
Violence Against Women Act
This federal law recognized the severity of violence against women and the need for a national strategy to combat it. Some of the provisions included: strengthening penalties for repeat offenders, developing dedicated law enforcement & prosecution units, mandating that victims are not financially responsible for their own rape exams or for service of a protection order, and establishment of the National Domestic Violence Hotline (42 U.S.C. §§ 13701 – 14040). -
Office on Violence Against Women created
Office on Violence Against WomenAs part of the VAWA of 1994, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) was created as part of the U.S. Department of Justice. The director of the OVW is appointed by the president and is charged with implementing the laws contained within the VAWA and subsequent legislature. The OVW awards and adminsters grants to colleges and universities under the Grants to Reduce Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus Program (Responding to campus sexual assault, n.d.). -
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National Crime Victimization Survey
The Sexual Victimization of College StudentsNational telephone survey of 4,446 women who were attending a 2- or 4-year college or university during the fall 1996 semester; estimated that between 1/5 and 1/4 of women are victims of rape or attempted rape while in college. The research results showed that college women are at a greater risk for sexual violence than women of a similar age group in the general population (Fisher, Cullen, & Turner, 2000). -
Violence Against Women Act of 2000
Funding for the VAWA of 1994 expired at the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2000) without Congress passing a reauthorization. Advocates lobbied heavily and in late October, VAWA 2000 was passed as a section of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.The VAWA of 2000 offered few new, sweeping reforms to combat gender-based violence, but rather aimed to build on the successes of the first act (42 U.S. Code § 13925). -
Campus SaVE Act
Campus SaVE ActThis federal law is an amendment to the Clery Act, requiring all institutions that publish an Annual Security Report under the Clery Act, to provide training to students, faculty, & staff on the prevention of rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, & stalking. Campus SaVE Act is a provision (§ 304) of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, broadening the definition of violence against women to include domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. -
Patty Crawford hired as Title IX Coordinator at Baylor University
New Title IX coordinator aims to empower students Crawford's primary role as the Title IX Coordinator is to oversee the investigation and resolution of all sex discrimination matters involving sexual violence, including sexual harassement, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking (Hayes, 2015). -
Sam Ukwuachu found guilty of sexual assault of Baylor female athlete
Baylor, football and the rape case of Sam UkwuachuUkwuachu was sentenced to 180 days in county jail along with 10 years felony probation and 400 hours of community service after being found guilty of sexual assault for an Oct. 2013 incident involving a former Baylor soccer player. Ukwuachu transferred to Baylor after one year at Boise State. Questions began to arise surrounding who knew what regarding the reasons behind Ukwuachu's dismissal from the Boise State football team; there were allegations of sexual assault (Nocera, 2015). -
Baylor hires Philadelphia-based law firm to lead investigation
Baylor hires outside counselThe Baylor Board of Regents announced the hiring of Pepper Hamilton, LLP to conduct an external and independent investigation into the allegations against Baylor University's handling of sexual violence reports. -
ESPN breaks story accusing Baylor of ignoring sex assault victims
ESPN Outside the LinesOutside the Lines reported the results of their investigation into Baylor University's handling of allegations of sexual violence. Along with citing several instances in which school officials either failed to investigate, or adequately investigate allegations of assault, the article also reported that it took Baylor more than three years to comply with the federal directive to name a Title IX coordinator (Lavigne, 2016). -
Candlelight Vigil held outside President's residence on Baylor campus
Baylor faces more accusationsBaylor students gathered outside the Albritton House, residence of Baylor president, Judge Ken Starr, to hold a candlelight vigil for survivors of sexual assault. Primary organizer of the event was Stefanie Mundhenk, a 2015 Baylor graduate and survivor of sexual assault. Mundhenk alleged she was raped by another Baylor student in March of 2015. She has been vocal in her criticism of Baylor's handling of the case (Ericksen, 2016). -
Baylor Board of Regents approve plan to prevent sexual violence
Board of Regents approves planThe Board of Regents at Baylor University approves a plan to prevent sexual violence by increasing funding to hire more counselors, provide academic resources for students who are survivors of sexual violence, and increase Title IX training for students, faculty, and staff. Baylor's president, Judge Ken Starr stated, "We know we can and must do a better job to confront interpersonal violence in our campus community" (Ericksen, 2016). -
Baylor suspends Phi Delta Theta fraternity after president's arrest
Baylor suspends Phi Delta Theta fraternity Baylor University released a statement, later the same day of fraternity president's arrest, saying the Phi Delta Theta fraternity is suspended from all organizational activities until an investigation of the incident is completed (Ramirez, 2016). -
Baylor fraternity president charged with sexual assault
Baylor fraternity president arrested for sexual assaultJacob Anderson, a 20-year old president of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Baylor University was arrested on a sexual assault charge. The allegations were made by another Baylor student who reported she was given some punch to drink at a fraternity party and became disoriented; later in the evening she was sexually assaulted (Hoppa, 2016). -
$5 Million Pledged by Baylor Board of Regents
Baylor's Continuing Actions Against Sexual ViolenceThe Board of Regents committed $5 million for the continuing actions of the university to respond to and prevent interpersonal violence within campus community. President Starr stated the funds would be used to increase Title IX resources, expand counseling center and enhance public safety efforts (Lewis, 2016). -
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National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
#ItsOnUsBU
It's On Us: Prevention is Possible
Baylor joins national campaign on awareness, prevention efforts during National Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April 5th - National Day of Action, Community Prayer Service at 11 am
April 5-8 - "It's On Us" Pledge Drive
April 11th - Nochdeloso at McLane Stadium
(Fogleman, 2016). -
The Role of Alcohol and the Social Culture of the Institution
Problem-Oriented Guides for Police, No. 17It is estimated that as many as 75% of all sexual violence incidents occurring on college campuses, involve alcohol. Some refer to these attacks as "party rapes" and consider them to be a form of acquaintance rape. However, many times the woman has had no prior interaction with her attacker (Sampson, 2000). Until colleges deal with the alcohol and drug issues on their campuses, I do not think we will see a decrease in sexual violence incidents. -
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What Does the Future Hold?
President Starr's QuoteWhat will Baylor look like with regards to the prevalence of sexual violence incidents, 5 years from now? “As we await the results of the Pepper Hamilton review, we will continue to address areas where improvements will lead to a safer campus culture,” President Starr said (Lewis, 2016, para 10).
I predict there will be fewer incidents of sexual violence at Baylor over the next 5 years. Whereas it appears earlier responses were inadequate, we seem to be headed in the right direction. -
Looking 6 Months into the Future
We have not seen a significant drop in the rate of sexual violence incidents on college campuses since the passage of the Title IX Act over 40 years ago. What, if anything, will make a difference as we move forward? "Culture develops in response to institutional arrangements" (Armstrong, Hamilton, & Sweeney, 2006, p. 496). Colleges must change the current "arrangements" which allow these behaviors to continue. -
Looking 5 Years in the Future
There needs to be a change in the social culture at our institutions. "Efforts to educate about sexual assault will not succeed if the university continues to support organizational arrangements that facilitate and even legitimate men's coercive sexual strategies...efforts to educate both men and women should be intensified, but they should be reinforced by changes in the social organization of student life" (Armstrong, Hamilton, & Sweeney, 2006, p. 496). -
Looking 10 Years in the Future
I foresee the laws surrounding sexual violence moving away from their primarily female focus, i.e. VAWA (Violence Against Women Act), and including acts against males as well. Statistics prove this is not strictly a female issue. Approximately 2-3% of men in the U.S. report being victims of sexual violence, many identify themselves as gay or bisexual (Rothman, Exner, & Baughman, 2011).
