Federal report: University of Virginia mishandled sexual violence cases

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published 21 September 2015

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights said Monday that the University of Virginia did not "promptly and equitably" respond to sexual violence complaints, which is a violation of Title IX. The school didn't promptly look into cases of sexual violence in fraternities, in some cases, and didn't have a review process fair to victims or alleged perpetrators, the report said.

Between 2008 and 2012, the university didn't "adequately oversee" all Title IX complaints, a policy they've since updated, according to the report. The University of Virginia has agreed to make changes to comply with government policy, Inside Higher Ed reports.

The school became the subject of a national conversation about sexual assault on campus in 2014 after Rolling Stone published an account of an alleged fraternity gang rape, which editors later retracted. In one of the largest surveys of its kind, the Association of American Universities reported Monday that on most campuses polled, at least 1 in 5 women said she experienced sexual assault or sexual misconduct.

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.

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