University Of Southern California Mislabels Sexual Assaults As ‘Personal Injuries’

[Are_grits_groceries]

Students at the University of Southern California (USC) are alleging that their university routinely mislabels incidents of sexual assault in an attempt to artificially lower its statistics on rape and sexual abuse.

According to the Huffington Post, when USC senior Ariella Mostov reported being sexually assaulted in March, the school’s Department of Public Safety filed a crime report listing the incident as an “injury response.” Not labeling it as sexual assault meant that neither Department of Public Safety or the Los Angeles Police Department had to follow up on the case.

Mostov was told by USC police that her particular case was not labeled as rape because her rapist didn’t orgasm.

Along with other USC students who have been victims of sexual assault, Mostov filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education accusing USC of frequently failing to address sexual assault cases and misreporting incidents. According to the complaint, the school is “persistently underreporting sexual battery, sexual assault, and rape in the Annual Clery Security Report by … categorizing instances of ‘rape’ as ‘personal injury,’ ‘domestic dispute,’ and other less serious crimes or non-crimes.”

These could be blatant violations of the Clery Act, a federal law which requires colleges and universities to accurate report crimes. USC could be fined up to $35,000 per violation if the Department of Education finds that the school indeed violated that law.
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http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/08/13/2457581/usc-mislabels-sexual-assault/

USC should be stomped hard about this.
Yale and UNC are also facing the heat because of the way they handle sexual assaults. I'm sure there are more.

[peacebird]

1. Off topic, love the kitty video!

[chervilant]

2. I wonder...

Is this attributable to the "boys will be boys" mindset, or the "she was just asking for it" excuse?

Oh, those randy boys...

[Are_grits_groceries]

4. Ya know what?

The DOJ should investigate.

Universities can be irresponsible about reporting crimes because they want their school to appear pristine. They don't want anything to stop the flow of students onto their campuses.

As far as a rush to judgement, I want a rush to justice. That means to quickly and efficiently assign enough people to investigate the claims, vet the statements and people, and come to a conclusion. I realize that it can be slow, but that is used as an excuse to make the time interminable. Get experienced sex crime investigators who know the ropes with victims, alleged wrongdoers, and the law. In addition, KEEP THE ADMINS out of it. They will play CYA to the max.

It doesn't mean stonewalling, being slow to aid in the investigation nor quietly assigning punishment for those who deserve it. There is no deterrent if the punishment does not meet the crime.

My first thoughts were for the victims. Yours were apparently for the school. I want a fair appraisal too, but not at the expense of blaming the victims and not supporting them. If they are found to be lying, they should be punished too.

[Mushroom]

6. What initial reports are you talking about? n/t

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. There are several schools involved.

U.S. investigates handling of alleged sex assaults at USC

Many of the students "were blamed for their victimization and were forced to watch impotently as their cases were routinely misreported, misconstrued, mishandled or discounted entirely," said Tucker Reed, one of the co-signers of the complaint who recently completed her junior year.
<snip>
The USC case is the latest in a series of investigations by the civil rights division focusing on whether colleges are complying with guidelines in Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education. In 2011, the Education Department sent a letter informing institutions that "sexual harassment of students, which includes acts of sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX."

The department has opened investigations of Title IX offenses at UC Berkeley and Dartmouth, Swarthmore and Occidental colleges. A spokeswoman did not say how many similar cases the department was pursuing.
<snip>
Linda Fairstein, who was a sex crimes prosecutor in New York and is now a senior adviser on college policies and sex crimes at K2 Intelligence, an investigative and consulting firm, said the problem isn't new but has been deliberately kept secret by colleges and universities for decades despite laws designed to deal with the issue.
<snip>
Fairstein said some schools are very proactive and are bringing in advisers to write new policies.
"Smart educators are actually reaching out for advice before they get a complaint like those at Occidental," she said. Federal authorities began investigating Occidental College after a group of students, alumni and faculty filed a complaint in the spring against the school.

Afterward, Occidental President Jonathan Veitch announced several changes and said the college would have "a structured sexual-assault program at this fall's orientation that reflects revised policies and procedures."
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/22/local/la-me-usc-sexual-harassment-20130723

Freshman are most at risk.

Many of these schools don't have any reliable plan in place to help the victims or investigate the incidents. Both areas need experienced individuals in charge. The victims need counseling and support in specific ways.

The investigations have to be started immediately so that evidence can be recovered and statements taken asap. Campus cops cannot handle it. SVU units in police departments were set up because these crimes have need trained detectives who are experienced in sex crimes because they have unique angles.

The problem is magnified if there are athletes involved. The pressure from other students and fans to drop the cases can be intense. Here is an example of fan pressure. Kirk Herbstreit was an Ohio State QB who has worked on college FB for years with ESPN. He has 4 kids. When he expressed some criticism about the FB coach Jim Tressel, the threats and harassment was so bad that he moved to another state. Imagine that being directed at a student who reports a crime against a team member.

It is deplorable that these academic bastions have to be shamed and forced into taking meaningful action.