AAUW Dialog

Most survivors of sexual assault on campus do not report the crime, in large part due to institutional barriers they face in the reporting process. Of those who report the crime, few find true justice.

This week, the Center for Public Integrity released the second installment of stories from a 12-month investigation that uncovered a host of institutional problems surrounding alleged sexual assaults and how they were handled by school and federal administrations. This installment focuses on how the students found responsible for sexual assaults often face little or no consequences.

The Center examined a database maintained by the U.S. Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women on sexual assault proceedings at 130 institutions of higher education nationwide that took place from 2003–08. From this information, the Center found that schools only expelled 10 percent to 25 percent of the students found “responsible” for alleged sexual assaults. Meanwhile, the victims often had their lives turned upside down. The Center writes, “Many times, victims drop out of school, while their alleged attackers graduate.”

The Center features stories of women to whom this happened. Lisa Simpson, a former student at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) and an AAUW-supported plaintiff, knows about the lack of consequences for those responsible for assaults firsthand. Simpson and a friend said they were sexually assaulted by football team recruits and football players. The university charged the football players with code of conduct violations and declined to pursue sexual assault charges against them.

None of the football players were expelled, suspended, or even lost their eligibility to play in any games; the head football coach continued to recruit one of the alleged assailants. Meanwhile, Simpson’s grades dropped, she stopped attending classes, and eventually she left CU without graduating.

In the end, Simpson found justice with a $2.5 million settlement to the lawsuit she filed against the university to protect other female students. More important, the settlement required the school to make institutional changes to better ensure students’ safety, including overhauling its football recruiting program. Several top officials, including the chancellor and the football coach, resigned in the aftermath.

Schools must take sexual assault seriously and give serious punishments to perpetrators before the problem will end. You can use the Center’s tool kit to investigate how your school deals with sexual assault allegations and how it treats those found guilty. Help hold your school accountable for student safety.

For more information, see

• NPR, “Campus Rape Victims: A Struggle for Justice”
• San Francisco Chronicle, “Few consequences for students accused of rape”
• Campus Progress, “When victims suffer consequences that assailants don’t”