The University’s revised sexual assault policy is a significant step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough in treating rape like the violent crime it is.
The task force’s work is commendable, as is the University’s role in commissioning and implementing it. Its definition of consent is a clear improvement with respect to the old policy. The roles of university employees as reporters are clearly defined, and the introduction of Interim Protective Measures promises to be an effective way to take immediate action to protect survivors while allowing for sufficiently thorough investigation. If assailants are found guilty, UNC must pledge to remove them from campus.
Survivors should at least feel the University would actively assist them in their choice to press charges. The University should start by promising to direct students to sound, affordable legal counsel.
To its credit, the policy does encourage survivors to “explore all available options for resolution, including a report under the Policy and a report to law enforcement.” The policy encourages attorneys to take part in proceedings.
But the University’s involvement should be extended, where possible, to ensure its full cooperation is felt in the continued prosecution of these cases. And for those who do choose to pursue criminal prosecution, such support would be vital.
As it stands, the criminal justice system is a broken place for survivors of sexual assault. In the past five years, just 14 percent of rapes or attempted rapes reported to the Chapel Hill Police Department resulted in arrests. Even more disquieting is the fact that the district attorney’s office declined to prosecute 11 percent of those cases.
Most of those employed by the University to advocate for survivors are deeply committed to their work, which often takes the form of filling holes left by a defective criminal justice system. Many of the protections offered by University policy far surpass those found outside campus. The pure intentions of the employees tasked with handling cases of sexual assault should be honored by a commitment from the University to uphold their efforts when it comes to the prosecution and conviction of rapists.
But in interviews with The Daily Tar Heel, advocates for survivors of sexual assault said they weren’t sure the new policy would make any headway as long as the longtime administrators in charge of handling sexual assault cases were still in power. Junior Jillian Murray sued UNC in August after several administrators, including Associate Dean of Students Dean Blackburn, failed to properly handle her report. Blackburn told Murray her email where she reported her sexual assault “simply got lost in (his) inbox.”
