Why is Betsy DeVos enabling rape deniers? | Jessica Valenti | Opinion
On Thursday, education secretary Betsy DeVos carried on in the grand American tradition of treating rape survivors like garbage, meeting with accused rapists and organizations that publish photos of women they claim are “false victimsâ€. Just another day in the era of Trump, where disdain for women and their rights trickles down from the “pussy-grabbing†president to all corners of his administration.
As part of her effort to examine the Obama administration’s widely lauded programs on campus rape, DeVos is meeting with survivors of sexual assault and organizations like the National Women’s Law Center and End Rape on Campus.
But in addition to meeting with groups dedicated to eradicating sexual assault at universities, the education secretary will also talk with dangerous anti-feminist groups that claim rape statistics are overblown and that women regularly lie about assault.
One organization, the National Coalition for Men, published the names and photos of women (“false victims,†the group called them) whose rape cases were dismissed by college disciplinary boards or not found credible by police â€" which doesn’t mean these women weren’t raped, just that they weren’t believed. Another group DeVos will meet with, Save, argues that invasive questions about a victim’s sexual history should be fair game.
Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise from DeVos, who appointed Candice Jackson as a civil rights official in the education department â€" a woman who denounced feminism and claimed she was a victim of discrimination for being white.
Jackson told the New York Times just this week that “90%†of rape accusations “fall into the category of ‘we were both drunk,’ ‘we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.†(She offered no proof for the highly offensive claim.)
DeVos’ office also rescinded an invitation to the campus anti-rape organization Know Your IX after the group’s founders wrote an op-ed criticizing DeVos. They also later signed on to a letter, penned and signed by more than a 100 rape survivors, noted that DeVos has refused to commit herself to enforcing title IX, the law that bans sex discrimination in higher education.
“The administration already egregiously overturned 2016 guidance that protected transgender students from title IX violations,†it reads. “Now the administration has signaled that it is seriously considering further dismantling protections for survivors of sexual violence by weakening the oversight and enforcement mechanisms of the federal government.â€
Campus rape victims have long been treated abysmally in the United States. They’re often disbelieved by peers, administrators and school adjudicators, shamed by campus police, or watch as their attackers go unpunished.
Women tell stories of their accused rapists even academically flourishing as they themselves fail classes or drop out to avoid seeing their attacker. Under the Obama administration, that tide started to turn. We started to talk about Yes Means Yes initiatives and teach enthusiastic consent. There was a national conversation about how to best serve students who need our help.
We all know that the Trump administration and appointees are eager to undo Obama’s work â€" but it shouldn’t come at the expense of rape victims, and of justice.
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