Most of us have heard this statistic before: 1 in 4 college women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape before she graduates, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

And yet, even with the widespread knowledge that this crime is particularly prevalent among their demographics, colleges are failing to handle this crime appropriately. Too often, offenders avoid prosecution and punishment.

While education and prevention plans are critical, there must be more efficient systems to handle sexual assault and rape cases when they occur.

These situations are continually not dealt with properly, even with Title IX — a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in educational institutions — and the Clery Act, which requires colleges to disclose information about crime on and near campuses.

In the past few years, there have been countless lawsuits, complaints and investigations concerning sexual assault and rape cases that were handled improperly at universities.

Landen Gambill, a student at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, faced expulsion this year for speaking out about her rape. She spoke to the press about the failure of UNC’s honor court, which found her rapist not guilty of assault.

The school claimed Gambill created an “intimidating” and “hostile” environment for her rapist by speaking out — despite the fact she never named him publicly.

It was unfair and illogical that the school concentrated more on punishing Gambill than her rapist, who was the actual criminal in the case.

UNC eventually dropped the case after it gained national attention. The U.S. Department of Education, however, is now investigating reports from Melinda Manning, a former assistant dean of students at UNC. According to the investigation, the University Counsel’s office pressured her to underreport cases of sexual assault.

The University of Southern California is also facing a federal investigation for alleged failures by school officials and campus police to prosecute rape.

Recently, police told a USC student that no rape occurred in her case because her alleged assailant did not have an orgasm. Because of that, they wouldn’t refer the case to the Los Angeles Police Department.

College students should be able to go to school officials and public safety officers for help — not told that their reports don’t count, when they very well do. This kind of treatment makes a traumatizing event even worse.

It’s disappointing and disheartening that respected institutions of higher education are getting these legal procedures so wrong. Such failures by college administrators and police at top-notch schools prove there needs to be a much better system to deal with this epidemic.

Some schools have been stepping forward with tighter policies.

Duke University, for example, stiffened its sanctions for students that committed sexual assault, increasing the penalty from suspension to expulsion, beginning this fall.

Swarthmore College students filed complaints that the school underreports sexual assaults and fails to appropriately handle reports of sexual misconduct and harassment. The college is now launching a review of its policies.

Syracuse University is not exempt from the issues surrounding sexual violence. Between 2009 and 2011, there were 39 reported “forcible” sex offenses on and near SU, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

Most cases are not reported. According to a 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Justice, 90 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses go unreported.

While we’re fortunate to have the Advocacy Center on campus to assist survivors in handling their situations however they feel most comfortable, it’s important that the university cooperates with students if they do decide to press charges.

All universities, including our own, should always work to improve and adjust the systems in place regarding rape and sexual assault to ensure safety and respect for all students. We should be listening to the stories from brave survivors speaking out, so that the foolish decisions of corrupted systems are not repeated.

Laura Cohen is a junior magazine journalism and women’s and gender studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected]. 

Published on July 31, 2013 at 9:32 pm