President Barack Obama--and, perhaps more relevantly in terms of survivor advocacy, Vice President Joe Biden--left office to a Republican-controlled Congress in the hands of an unqualified, double-digit sexual offender. Those in the anti-sexual assault movement knew that Title IX, among other important legislation, could potentially be vulnerable to change.

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Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in educational institutions, programs, and activities that are federally funded.  In the anti-sexual violence movement, Title IX--and particularly, the “Dear Colleague” letter is a vital piece of legislation that requires college campuses and K-12 to respond effectively to any reports of sexual harassment or sexual violence in a timely manner, according to the website for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR). Failing to do so, under this legislation, is a form of sex discrimination.  Above all else, Title IX has continuously set the standard for how these cases must be addressed:  how reports should be filed, received, investigated, and resolved.  Title IX requires universities to accommodate the survivor’s needs--whether that be free counseling or helping her/him re-arrange a schedule to avoid contact with the offender.  A campus’ Title IX coordinator can help survivors to take the next step if they wish to press charges or recover in privacy if they do not. This legislation is vital and absolutely necessary.

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However, a common argument against Title IX is that the legislation makes it too easy for individuals to be accused of sexual violence, and should be seriously altered--or even done away with, a move that would set back the anti-sexual violence movement.  With the appointment of Betsy DeVos to Secretary of the Education Department, the department announced in late September that it is formally rescinding the “Dear Colleague” guidelines, a process that will undoubtedly prove harmful to students who endure sexual violence.

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Over the summer, I interned with Crime Victim Center of Erie County, a local nonprofit that began as a rape crisis center in 1975.  Though this internship was extremely enriching, there were days that were, needless to say, very mentally trying.  I witnessed devastating court cases.  I sat comfortably in my office as, in the lobby, adult women sobbed and children of all ages and genders played, waiting to see counselors themselves for crimes that stole their innocence too soon.

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However, one of the most memorable experiences I had occurred during the first couple of weeks I was there, still being trained. I was required to watch a documentary:  “The Hunting Ground.”  

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Within this documentary, two girls who both experienced sexual violence at UNC, Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, and were both generally left out to dry by their college’s administration--began a movement where they help other survivors to come forward, giving them the confidence to speak about their experience. There are countless testimonies from sexual assault survivors that detail the treatment they endured under their college administration where they were told to let go, to not report or take action.

In an environment like the one that these individuals experienced, why would anyone who had already experienced extreme trauma want to come forward, if only to be faced with more trauma, more doubt, more discrimination?  If only to face disbelief at their accusation?  If only to be put second to the needs of the offenders--those college athletes, for example, who were allowed to finish their season before being put on trial.  Those, like Jameis Winston of Florida State University, who was accused of sexual assault in 2012 and went on to win the Heismann in 2013.

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According to the American Association of University Women, 89% of college campuses revealed that zero rapes were reported on campus in 2015. However, as much as I’d like to live in the world of sunshine and green grass and balloons, a directly-contradictory statistic from a 2014 report by the U.S. Department of Justice stated that an estimated 80% of sexual assault survivors who are students do not report their sexual assaults--a number derived from data collected in the years 1995 to 2013.

This countering statistic demonstrates that the key word in the AAUW statistic is “reported.”  

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Sexual assault on college campus is still a very real issue.  Rape culture that favors the needs and futures of offenders over victims is still a Very Real Issue.  

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The reason survivors of rape aren’t reporting their attacks is not because there aren’t any to report.  Instead, it’s due to the unwelcoming environment of disbelief that every survivor risks when coming forward. The absence of Title IX can only damage this already problematic environment.

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It’s not an issue that is in any way part of a liberal or conservative agenda.  Supporting victims of sexual violence should be basic human decency, and to deny them the support system they require in order to come forward--a support system that, let’s be frank, is simply nonexistent--is hindering the progress of the anti-sexual violence movement, one of the biggest issues all women face globally still today.