Collaborative Effort Helps Fill Prospective Void of DOE Secretary’s Roll Back of Obama Era Title IX Protections
In its ongoing effort to combat campus sexual assault throughout the Bay Area, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office (SFDA) held a training at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) on Friday September 8, 2017. The annual training focused on responding to, preventing, and prosecuting sexual assault on college campuses. UCSF was selected to partner in this training because of its proactive leadership in working to educate its community about sexual assault.1
CARE Advocate, Denise Caramagno and UCSF Police Officer Sandy Lee attend the Red Zone training on sexual assault on college campuses.
Students are going back to school just as U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos pushes for changes to the way colleges handle allegations of sexual assaults on campus.
“The truth is that the system established by the prior administration has failed too many students,” DeVos said recently in remarks to students and faculty at George Mason University.2
“A lingering question is whether the administration’s signaled departure from the Obama era rules will benefit the accused to the detriment of survivors,” said San Fracisco District Attorney George Gascón at Friday's Red Zone Summit.
More: San Francisco District Attorney's statement about the U.S. Department of Education proposal to raise the standard of evidence for campus sexual assault investigations.
“Few survivors come forward, so I’m very concerned that these rule changes will lead to more assailants remaining at campuses in close proximity to their victims, and that the consequence is a further reduction in reporting,” Gascón said.3
Watch: SF District Attorney and UCSF CARE Advocate react to Education Secretary DeVos's comments. UCSF CARE Advocate challenges DeVos's assertion as "disinformation".
Denise Caramagno, UCSF campus assault resources and education advocate, said, “I think it’s really disinformation to say that there aren’t protections for people who are accused. There are protections, people are very careful about due process.”
The training, which was kicked off by SFDA George Gascón in conjunction with Dr. Emily Murase of the SF Department on the Status of Women, taught attendees how to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and mitigate sexual assault cases. The program included a Title IX panel discussion and a San Francisco Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) panel discussion.
One day before the Red zone Summit, UC President Janet Napolitano issued a statement, saying that changes to the Title IX policy discussed by DeVos signal that the Trump administration aims to undo six years’ worth of federal enforcement designed to strengthen sexual violence protections on college campuses. "This is extremely troubling," Napolitano said.
But Napolitano said that state laws and federal regulations remain in effect that prohibit sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence.4
Following the Department of Education's September 22nd rescission of the Obama administration's 2011 letter and 2014 guidance on campus sexual violence, President Napolitano issued a statement.
"I am deeply worried by the Department of Education announcement today that will in effect weaken sexual violence protections, prompt confusion among campuses about how best to respond to reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment, and unravel the progress that so many schools have made in ensuring fair, timely procedures for both survivors and the accused." 5
Kathleen Salvaty, UC's systemwide Title IX Coordinator, sent a letter to Title IX officers across the 10 campuses, reiterating UC’s commitment to ensuring safety for the university’s students and employees.
“UC’s systemwide policies and procedures on sexual violence and sexual harassment remain in full effect,” Salvaty wrote.6
Friday's training marks the beginning of the SFDA Red Zone Campaign to bring awareness to campus sexual assault.
Read more about Red Zone Campus Sex Assault Service and Resource Training held at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) on Friday September 8, 2017. Explore the science revealing the Red Zone on college campuses.
