The Case for Appropriate Sanctions in Title IX Rape Investigations

The Case for Appropriate Sanctions in Title IX Rape Investigations 

By Moire Balsam
Staff Attorney, Victim Rights Law Center

Imagine you are a college student who is raped by another student on your college campus. You are devastated by what happened, fear for your safety and for the safety of other students at your school, and want your rapist held accountable for what they did. You learn that Title IX, a federal law that bans sex discrimination in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding, requires that your school investigate complaints of on-campus sex-based harassment including sexual assault. You file a formal complaint with your school’s Title IX Office. After a lengthy investigation that spans an entire semester and a hearing before a 3-person panel, the other student is found responsible for forcible rape, and the school imposes sanctions.

To your horror, despite fully crediting your account, the panel imposes disciplinary probation with the requirements that the Respondent attend a training on consent and meet monthly with a counselor for the remainder of the school year.  The school also maintains a mutual no contact order that has existed since the beginning of the investigation.

What sanctions are available after a responsible finding?

While the most serious sanctions available after a responsible finding for rape are expulsion, suspension, and withholding/delaying a degree, we rarely see schools impose expulsion or degree withholding/delay and only sometimes see suspension.

What remains are generally insubstantial sanctions like disciplinary probation, deferred suspension, consent training, and short stints in counseling that allow perpetrators of sexual violence to continue their education uninterrupted and unincumbered.       

Disciplinary probation and deferred suspensions are the equivalent of a slap on the wrist, a warning that the other student not forcibly rape anyone else or violate the school’s Title IX policy again. If they do, the other student may face actual, significant consequences like suspension or expulsion (but even that’s not guaranteed if they re-offend). A student on disciplinary probation or a deferred suspension can continue to attend classes, participate in clubs and sports, and frequent social gatherings and parties. There is no requirement that the student take any steps to change – even if the student is required to attend counseling and training – and there is no active monitoring of the student’s behavior to protect the school community.

What is an appropriate sanction for rape? 

A warning is never an appropriate sanction for rape.  The imposition of disciplinary probation or deferred suspension on someone found responsible for rape demonstrates to the school community that the school does not take sexual assault seriously, provides no deterrence for future sexual misconduct, and discourages other survivors of sexual violence from coming forward and participating in the formal process.

Student survivors of rape are too often forced to reckon that their rapist will never receive a meaningful punishment. Most of our clients identify expulsion and suspension as appropriate sanctions based on the trauma they’ve suffered, and the nature of the harm caused. They seek a strong response from their school that demonstrates that rape is wrong and will not be tolerated. When insignificant sanctions are imposed, however, schools fall short, and survivors are re-traumatized by the process.

We must continue to advocate that schools take a stronger stance against sexual violence. Survivors deserve more.

Moire Balsam, Esq., is a Staff Attorney at Victim Rights Law Center. She provides direct representation to sexual assault survivors in the areas of education, privacy, and safety. Ms. Balsam frequently serves as an advisor to Complainants in campus Title IX investigations.