Democracy Now!

Carlos Bazante

Soc. Movements MW

Democracy Now! (May 1, 2014)

Brown Student Lena Sclove Speak Out After School Lets Her Accused Rapist Return to Campus and After Tufts Found to Violate Title IX, How Student Rape Survivors Are Leading Movement for Reform

The following two stories from Democracy Now! are about the sexual assault issue in college campuses around the United States.  According to Amy Goodman one in five women are sexually assaulted in college and this information has led to a closer look at sexual assaults on college campuses.  Goodman also state that the number of sexual assault complaints has tripled since 2009.  A Brown University student is seeking justice for the sexual assault she endured.  Lena Sclove suffered multiple injuries after being sexually assaulted twice by another student.  Lena claimed that she has been advised to seek other means of attaining justice rather than the criminal justice system in order to seek justice faster and in a more humane way.  One of the reasons why she did not go straight to the criminal justice system was because of the statistical data that only about two percent of sexual assault perpetrators in the state of Rhode Island are prosecuted.  Brown University found the perpetrator guilty and only suspended him from school for a year. 

The next story is about the same social issue (rape epidemic in college campuses) covering another rape case on a college campus.  Wagatwe Wanjuki, a former student at Tufts University, was a victim of rape by another student.  She claimed that the Tuffs University did nothing to seek justice and took no action against the student who raped her.  Wagatwe was not only ignored but was also expelled from Tufts University after going public and speaking openly about her case.  The Department of Education seemed to respond to the rape epidemic in college campuses by stating that they will terminate federal funding to schools that fail to comply with Title IX (law requiring schools to quickly and effectively deal with sexual assault).  After the assault, Wagatwe has joined the Know your IX movement which increases awareness about Title IX and seeks enforcement of this law.