A White House report earlier this year stated that one in five women will be sexually assaulted in college. Since then there have been multiple protests for women as well as protests against how colleges handle cases.
The reason why colleges are put in charge of handling sexual assault cases is Title IX "Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance." - National Center for Education Statistics The federal government has stated clearly that they are watching the Universities and will stop federal funding if they mess up.
Schools have improved on who is listening to the cases, they now have staff who are trained for such situations. Students can still go to the police, but for the majority of cases the victims don't. It is much easier to win at a university then in federal court, because the standard of proof is much lower. They basically state that it was more likely to have happened than not. When they are tried on campus the accused can only be expelled, where in the federal court they would go to jail. This has caused some victims to drop their charges, because the accused can just enroll in another college.
This has its pro and cons, they are vastly improving on the action they are taking in these situations. Its great that they are educating and training the people who will decide these students fate. They are able to asses the situation with a better understanding. Though I'm not sure if the accused will receive a fair punishment. The offender will have this on their record and it will affect them in other colleges, jobs, and social stations, but still if the offender can walk away freely from this and still have the opportunity to repeat their crime; you have to ask yourself was proper action taken in the first place? Also since in the trial it is so easy to be found guilty innocent people can be kicked out of college, now the likely hood of this happening is small it is still a possibility. I believe that the universities are still improving and that as time passes the trails and verdicts will become smoother. The federal government needs to step in more instead of just saying "Do this or we will cut off the universities funding"
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