By Erin Jemison, CCASA Executive Director
On May 1, the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released a list of 55 colleges and universities currently under investigation for possible violations of how they handled sexual assault complaints under Title IX. Four Colorado institutions were on that list: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Denver, University of Denver, and Regis University. The publication of this list is partly in response to recommendations that recently came out of President Obama’s White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to bring more transparency to the federal government’s enforcement activities around the issue of sexual violence.While an investigation does not necessarily mean that an institution has violated the law, we are hopeful that increased attention to this issue will move all colleges and universities toward creating and implementing victim-centered sexual assault response policies that are critical to victim safety and healing.
Title IX compliance is a complex topic and we are proud that we have two national experts on Title IX and related issues right here in Colorado – Anne Munch and John Clune. Check out recent interviews with each of them on Colorado Public Radio!
http://www.cpr.org/news/story/former-prosecutor-colorado-helps-colleges-respond-campus-rape
http://www.cpr.org/news/story/why-federal-list-isn-t-final-word-sexual-violence-colorado-campuses
Please also join us at CCASA’s Annual Campus Meeting for campus professionals and their community partners.
SAVE THE DATE!
CCASA’s Annual Campus Meeting
Wednesday, July 16th 9am-4pm
Front Range Community College-Westminster Campus
Registration opens May 28th!
image citation: http://nyulocal.com/on-campus/2014/05/06/federal-investigations-bring-attention-to-campus-sexual-assault-problem/