Biden: Schools must prevent sexual violence

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

The Obama administration is pushing colleges and schools to take steps to prevent sexual violence on campuses through expanded enforcement of civil rights laws.

Vice President Biden plans to announce the initiative Monday at the University of New Hampshire, making public a 19-page letter of regulatory guidance to schools from the Education Department. It specifies for the first time that rape, sexual assault and sexual battery should be considered not only crimes but also instances of discrimination covered by the federal rules that bar sexual harassment.

“Students across the country deserve the safest possible environment in which to learn,” Biden said in a statement. “That’s why we’re taking new steps to help our nation’s schools, universities and colleges end the cycle of sexual violence on campus.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/biden_schools_must_prevent_sexual_violence/2011/04/03/AFlc5mYC_story.html

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As a senator Biden drafted the Violence Against Women Act, and see page 310 of this book for more of Biden's quest for women's justice

[Hannah Bell]

1. wtf? excuse me, it's not enough to prosecute it as a crime? right, i'm

sure this will help reduce rape.

what a waste of time. more red tape, more useless posturing.

[Fearless]

2. What if a man is raped? Is it still discrimination?

This concept doesn't seem very well thought out. Now, don't get me wrong, I think that we need to hold rapists accountable, but at what point does "discrimination" become moot.

[RocketTuna]

3. Presumably

What this is a step towards is holding educational institutions accountable for rape cultures and hostile environments for women and LGBT folks that they either foster outright or simply allow to continue with-in their walls. Rape is a complex issue which, much like racism, cannot be treated simply as person-on-person assault.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105381707

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x653353

http://www.alternet.org/sex/148522/disgusting%3A_yale_frat_caught_on_tape_chanting_about_rape_%26quot%3Bno_means_yes,_yes_means_anal%26quot%3B_and_%26quot%3Bf**cking_sluts%26quot%3B/

[hayu_lol]

4. Hey Joe...

we need jobs.

[Fearless]

5. I absolutely agree that it is a complex issue...

And I firmly believe that it is societal in nature. What I'm asking is whether this is the right course of action. Hold individuals accountable, but create a learning environment which is dead set against violence. The single best changer of actions is peer pressure. It's about time it's used for something valuable.

[RocketTuna]

6. ....

That's exactly what this thing is attempting to start.


"a 19-page letter of regulatory guidance to schools from the Education Department. It specifies for the first time that rape, sexual assault and sexual battery should be considered not only crimes but also instances of discrimination covered by the federal rules that bar sexual harassment."

^That changes how the educational institutions deal with the incident, not how the perpetrator is tried in criminal court.

Read the damn thing before you start whining that something isn't being done according to your own vague sensibilities.

[Fearless]

7. It changes nothing because the federal government cannot legally...

Change public school policy. It is a suggestion to make sexual violence discrimination. This is a moot point, because it only suggests that women are violated, because "men" are not legally considered protected under anti-discrimination laws.

There is no need to be uncivil.

[RocketTuna]

9. I thought liberals were capable of nuance..

You don't think the same or similar acts can mean different things given historical and cultural contexts? Or that number and frequency of one type of act might be a sign that it warrants a different sort of response than other, otherwise similar, acts?

[Fearless]

10. Personal attacks are the lowest form of dissent. Have a nice day.

[cally]

12. That's exactly what this is and I'm thrilled

welcome to DU

[Zoeisright]

8. What?

How absolutely ridiculous. The number of men who have been raped is minuscule compared to the number of women who have been raped and sexually assaulted. Misogyny (look it up) is entrenched in our culture. Claiming reverse discrimination on this issue is unbelievably stupid.

[Fearless]

11. I would contend that the number of soldiers killed in Iraq is minuscule...

Compared to Vietnam. Does that make the action any more regrettable? I am not claiming reverse discrimination. In fact the phrase "reverse discrimination" is discriminatory in that it claims that discrimination proper can only occur to certain people. My remark originally is that the federal government defines discrimination legally and that men cannot be claimed under discrimination simply for being men. Therefore his argument that rape can be discrimination is moot because not only women are raped.


Food for thought... http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,973073,00.html