University of Kansas decides community service is too 'punitive' a punishment for rape

In a heartbreaking new article published in The Huffington Post, a University of Kansas student tells the story of her rape — and how little punishment her rapist received.

The woman tells the Post that a male student walked her back to their dormitory after an off-campus party in October 2013, and she had been drinking at the party. He had sex with her, despite her saying "no," "stop," and "I can't do this." The male student later confirmed her statements and his actions to the police after the woman reported the incident.

Yet almost a year later, both local police and the local district attorney "have so far refused to prosecute the male student for sexual assault," with the district attorney deciding not to press charges "because there was a less than 1 percent chance a jury would convict" her attacker.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

While the university found the male student guilty of "nonconsensual sex," his punishment was to write a four-page "reflection paper" and attend counseling sessions, in addition to a ban from university housing. The Huffington Post reports that the university considered forcing the man to perform community service, but the university's associate general counsel, Rachel E. Rolf, said community service would be too "punitive" for the offense, because the school's "student conduct process is intended to be educational."

"I was just so baffled at how little of a punishment he was getting," the woman said. Read the story in full at The Huffington Post.