Last summer, the state of New York made changes to the Title IX policy regarding sexual assault and harassment. Title IX, a federal law under the Department of Education, was enacted in 1972 and states “No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program receiving Federal financial assistance.”
At the collegiate level, this means the revision of policies and procedures to ensure that reasonable efforts are made to prevent sexual violence and to respond to reports promptly and effectively. As a result of the new guidelines, Houghton College is in the process of revising the sexual harassment and assault policy in order to promote a healthier, safer environment for all students and faculty.
Houghton College’s Title IX Coordinator, Nancy Murphy, described Title IX as a law that is “critical for assuring that people of all genders are equipped to thrive in learning communities that are free of discrimination and violence.” The prevention of sexual harassment is very important because a college campus is an environment where many young people are not reporting cases of assault or abuse. Even when they are reporting, there are often times when college administrators fall short of the goal of taking care of the victim and holding the perpetrator accountable.
Previously under this law, Houghton’s sexual harassment policy was based on a “No means No” approach where investigation into an alleged sexual assault focused on whether or not the victim verbally said or behaved in a way that communicated a “no” in denial of sexual consent. However, Murphy stated, “many sexual assaults occur in the absence of a ‘no’ but without a ‘yes’”. She referred to the difficulty institutions are having determining whether or not a verbal “no” was stated by a sexual assault victim and, as a result, New York made a necessary adaptation.
The new motto for the Title IX policy is “Yes means Yes.” This motto places responsibility on the accused assaulter to state why he/she thought the sexual behavior was consensual. The changed policy challenges the assaulter to prove the words or actions that were present for him/her to believe he/she was wrongfully accused. The major reason for the policy change is often due to the inability of assault victims to speak or take action for themselves under the circumstances they are in. Victims are frequently unable to give their consent due to incapacitation by fear, age, or alcohol.
However, since Houghton College is an institution that requires students to abstain from alcohol, Murphy asked, “What does this have to do with Houghton College?” She answered, “Though the number of assaults against Houghton students is arguably much lower than that of many college populations, our students do experience sexual assault, sometimes here on campus and sometimes off-campus. It is important that we as a community are educated about sexual assault for the primary purpose of prevention, but also to make sure that victims receive sensitive and helpful follow-up care and that student perpetrators of sexual assault are held accountable.”
There are debates on whether or not this new change will be more beneficial in helping victims of sexual assault and harassment and Murphy believes, “There are elements both good and bad.” If we abide by the “Yes means Yes” policy, then it may be favoring the victim’s rights more that the perpetrator’s rights. But with the old policy too much pressure was placed on the victim and it often resolved in a lack of action being taken.
SGA’s Executive Officer of Student Life, Jared Cram, said “I’m interested to see how this will pan out on a campus like Houghton where some of these issues may not be as obvious or prevalent. I’m part of the committee on Harassment Policy and Prevention and we had a lot of training on what to do in certain situations. It seems like they’re doing a very good job of making sure the victim is cared for above all else.”
One of the ways the college will inform students, faculty, and staff on the new policies is through a campus-wide survey that is due to come out in Fall of 2015. This survey will measure the rate of sexual assault on campus, how aware students are of current policies and procedures, and the likelihood that they would feel comfortable reporting sexual assault.