Schools Gagging Student Victims of Sexual Assault Just for Reporting
Civil Rights Organizations File Federal Complaint to End the Silencing
The federal law known as Title IX protects people from gender discrimination and sexual abuse in educational settings. Many complaints are filed with the federal government each year for violations of the law, which was enacted 50 years ago.
Now, several civil rights organizations are asking the Department of Education to investigate a practice where some colleges are requiring students to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) or other silencing agreements before even having their Title IX claims investigated. Other times, students are silenced simply for filing sexual assault complaints and asking for an investigation.
This is an especially egregious attempt to silence those seeking justice, furthering their pain. Apparently, this is not uncommon. For example, according to USA Today:
A student at Villanova University who reported sexual misconduct was asked to not share details of the case with almost anyone, even her parents. Violating the terms could have affected the outcome of the school’s investigation.
At York College of Pennsylvania, a student said he was threatened with academic discipline for telling his story on a podcast, violating an NDA, even though he didn’t name the student he accused of rape. Sadly, this student withdrew from the college.
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a contract presented to students says that just talking about the process of reporting sexual misconduct could get a student expelled.
The punishment to a student for violating such a gag order can range from being placed at a disadvantage at their hearing to expulsion. This is crazy when you consider this is just at the investigation stages, not in exchange for a legal settlement or other resolution potentially favorable to the victim.
The justification schools offer is to protect the identity of all the parties involved. But if the victims do not want this protection, that only leaves the alleged perpetrators. Plus, it puts the victims at a disadvantage if they do not sign. At Villanova, if the student didn’t sign, she couldn’t see the evidence in her own case so couldn’t effectively prepare for her hearing.
At some schools, such as Rutgers University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, contracts require that students share the evidence only with their hearing advisers and no one else. This means they would be barred from filing criminal complaints. For sexual assault. So crazy and potentially traumatizing for many.
Lawyers say such requirements violate Title IX and other laws.
Often these agreements are so poorly worded that it’s hard to figure out what’s barred and what’s allowed, even for attorneys. I can attest that it’s easy to have different understandings of how you are being silenced. I did not realize that I was agreeing to an “effective NDA” when I signed a non-disparagement clause, as I wrote about previously.
Meanwhile, the campaign Can’t Buy My Silence is asking universities in England to pledge to stop using NDAs and other silencing tactics against those who file complaints about sexual abuses and other forms of misconduct. Thus far, the campaign has garnered an impressive list of pledges. The effort has the support of Michele Donelan, Minister for Further and Higher Education in England, who said: “I am determined to see this shabby practice stamped out on our campuses.”
Time for U.S. educational institutions to sign on as well. And if you’re based in Washington State, such practices could run afoul of the new law that recently took effect to severely restrict the use of NDAs for employers, as I wrote about last week.
Do you need help escaping your toxic workplace? Tips on how to avoid signing an NDA? Assistance with finding an attorney in your area? Let me help you. Check out my coaching services here. Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.