Administration handling of sexual assault

[emeraldkity4]

Because of the stigma against the victim that I feel still exists, I would tend to believe someone who reported being raped.
If two people are equally under the influence they probably shouldn't be having sex at all.
But what would be the motivation for someone to accuse her former boyfriend of rape, if she had consented?

Perhaps if we drew the line & actually took it more seriously, we would be quicker to act, at least to protect our most vulnerable citizens.

Regulators found staff and managers broke mandatory reporting laws at a SOLA home in North Seattle in 2010, which led to the further sexual assault of a developmentally disabled client. On January 22, 2010 the female client told two SOLA workers she was being sexually abused by a male staff member who worked the early morning shift in the home. Instead of following DSHS policy and state law which mandate acting on the accusations immediately, the workers waited until their shift was over to make a phone call.
At 11:30 pm they reported the allegations to their supervisor. The manager said “she would handle it”. But she waited as well. Instead of calling police or the enforcement division of DSHS, the manager allowed the suspected rapist to show up for his morning shift as usual. Because of the allegations she relieved the staff member of his duties an hour after his shift began. According to the disabled client, that was too late. On January 23, 2010 the client reported she’d been raped by the man again that morning.

Repeat violations threaten shut down of 13 state run group homes | KING5.com Seattle

[MomCat2]

ek and Naturally - you might think about heading over to the other thread on this topic (A Harrowing Tale of Sexual Assault at Amherst College) to talk about your personal experience. Some people over there seem to think that it if a rape victim doesn't go to the police, then a fair amount of blame should be cast upon her. Oy.

[Consolation]

momcat, you are completely misrepresenting the desire of some of us to see rapists prosecuted and women protected.

Oy indeed.

[Proudpatriot]

Someone posted "Of course, with a topic like this, there are now several parallel threads running. Interesting post here about a school that apparently does have a good policy in place."

I am curious why you would think this is a GOOD policy. What is good about assuming that a man in 100% to blame when a drunken sexual encounter takes place? I have to go see what my son's school's policy is with respect to this. I would not want him in a place where a simple drunken sexual encounter could get him thrown out of school and possibly tainted with a sex offender title.

In the original story that spawned this thread we have to be careful not to make the young woman in question into a hero. She is not a hero. She did not do what she needed to do after a crime was committed and much of her mental health deterioration is due to the fact that SHE did not do the things she should have done to ensure that justice was done. That is not Amherst's fault.

I do not condone some of the actions of Amherst, but some of the mental health issues might have been avoidable had the woman actually spoken up. There are many posts on this thread lauding her for speaking up, but she didn't speak up when she should have.

My heart breaks for her but please make sure your own daughters know that there are mental health repercussions associated with NOT reporting a sexual assault as soon as it occurs. The fact that the man in question cannot be prosecuted for a crime he committed lies at his victim's feet. It is not her fault that he assaulted her but she does bear some responsibility for it being impossible for him to be prosecuted.

[Proudpatriot]

Momcat2-the victim is not responsible for the rape. Obviously, she did not wish this upon her. However, it is her responsibility to report the crime if she wants it to be prosecuted. A person cannot be sent to jail with just a report by a victim months or years after the event. It needs to be investigated immediately. And for that (and ONLY that) she does bear responsibility.

[momofthreeboys]

Everyone has obligations when a crime or act of violence or harassment is committed. In this particular case the blogger places the blame on the college, but ultimately she did not fulfill her obligation to report to anyone in a position to help her which could have changed the trajectory of course of events. Hopefully continued therapy will help her and I feel for her that there was no friend to get her through the days following the initial incident and help her understand the importance of telling someone.

[dodgersmom]

What is good about assuming that a man in 100% to blame when a drunken sexual encounter takes place?

I haven't read the policy (and don't even know what school it is), but I didn't understand it as placing the blame on the man, necessarily . . . but rather on whichever individual initiated contact that the other person later complained about. Bottom line is that if your partner is under the influence, exercise caution, whatever gender you are.

[tom1944]

So if two drunk students have sex would a male be wise to proactively report the event and claim that he was too drunk to consent so he wants the women investigated?

Is the drunk defense aplicable to both parties. What happens in a same sex relationship?

[momofthreeboys]

^^No institution is going to adopt such Draconian principles that any situation of he said and she said would not require great due diligence before issuing punitive recommendations. If the situation were clear, it would be in the institution's legal interest to turn it over to the police.

[Proudpatriot]

A Harrowing Tale of Sexual Assault at Amherst College

This is the post that someone referred to above. I fail to see how this is a GOOD policy.

[Iglooo]

I just looked up crime stats at 4 colleges; Amherst, Pomona, Swarthmore, Willaims. For years 2009, 2010, 2011, the reported numbers of filed forcible sexual assault are

Amherst 7, 14, 15
Pomona 0, 2, 2
Swarthmore 4, 2, 2
Williams 2, 5, 7

It is troubling to see much higher numbers at Amherst.

[austonian]

It's great you're interested in understanding sexual assault statistics on campuses but I would suggest you keep researching. Statistically and anecdotally, ALL of those numbers are very low--even for the small size of those schools. After receiving a Dear Colleague letter alerting them of their noncompliance of Title IX and FERPA, many schools tried desperately to reduce their numbers of reported rapes. Key word is 'reported,' because they did not magically reduce rapes that way. Instead, schools developed different ways to reduce the reported numbers. This has been shown (if it is not obvious) to be actually be counterproductive to eliminating rape on campuses. Low numbers may make a school look good to the average person, but they do not reflect the statistical or anecdotal reality of campuses and they do not help survivors.

Long story short: low numbers are not 'good,' they are just useless data.

[Iglooo]

Was this a mine field I stepped in obliviously?

[MommaJ]

what would be the motivation for someone to accuse her former boyfriend of rape, if she had consented?

Oh heck, I can think of a lot of motivations--denial, jealousy, revenge, narcissitic personality disorder. How about the girl who, after a drunken hookup that she doesn't remember, is teased by her dormmates about the boy who snuck out of her room half dressed in the morning and fears the tale will spread and sully her reputation? Or the girl who thought an encounter was the rekindling of a relationship and is now ignored by a guy who barely recalls that it happened? Or the emotionally unstable girl who has read the hundreds of "You go girl!" posts generated by the Amherst article and thinks a claim of rape will bring her the attention and concern she craves? None of these scenarios are likely, but they're possible. That's why this whole subject is so complex.

But think how many of these assaults could be avoided if women didn't drink themselves into stupors at parties. If women don't look after their own safety, all the school policies in the world won't be enough to protect them. If I leave my car unlocked and it's stolen, yes, I'm going to demand the thief be prosecuted, that he not be given a slap on the wrist, and that police patrol my neighborhood more often. But it doesn't change the fact that I shouldn't have left my car unlocked, and that my own negligence contributed to my loss. We need to hammer home to our daughters over and over again that they are the first line in their own defense.

[momofthreeboys]

many schools tried desperately to reduce their numbers of reported rapes.

You are stating this as if it is fact. Can you elaborate how a report of non-consensual sex would be classified or are you implying that colleges simply didn't count at all? And why would you consider the data "useless?"