The Department of Education and the State of Title IX

July 20, 2017 |
Valor
 Title IX is facing new scrutiny and new forms of blaming and isolating survivors of sexual assault. CALCASA is keeping a close eye on the federal developments around Title IX and the Office of Civil Right (OCR) for impactful mobilization and response. “CALCASA strives to protect the valuable systems changes that have occurred over the last years.  Silencing, discounting, and ignoring the experiences of survivors will only perpetuate sexual violence.  Our campuses must be systems that disrupt and end sexual violence.” Sandra Henriquez, CEO of CALCASA.
This past week the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV) issued a statement addressing the concerns with the Department of Education and the softening of enforcement for Title IX.
 “We were shocked and saddened to hear the recent statements by Candice Jackson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, attempting to invalidate victims and their reports of rape on college campuses.  We felt the same about  Secretary DeVos’s decision to meet with, among other groups, the National Coalition for Men, who have openly blamed victims of violence for their abuse.” “These actions by the Department responsible for enforcing Title IX in our schools leaves us with grave concerns about their commitment to doing so.” “Regardless of intent recent actions and communications by the Department indicate a softening of enforcement of Title IX and a lack of support for the 2011 Dear Colleague Letter. We adamantly oppose any attempts to strip the protections of Title IX or to avoid the explanative 2011 Dear Colleague Letter.”
With CALCASA’s presence in the DC office, we remain closely connected with our national partners and will continue to work with state and federal partners to sustain the gains we have made in the response to and prevention of sexual assault on campus. We must continue to make our voices and the voices of survivors heard to improve campus systems. If you have questions or want to share how you are working with campuses please email Emily Austin at eaustin@calcasa.org