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One Sunday morning last February, a
19-year-old Marquette University student tearfully reported to
campus security officers that she had been raped.
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The officers were legally bound to
report that allegation to Milwaukee police. They didn’t. They told
the student they didn’t know whether a crime had been committed
because the alleged encounter began as consensual.
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Result: No charges were
filed.
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In June, Marquette administrators
acknowledged to Chicago Tribune reporters
RyanÂ
“list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;”>Haggerty
Stacy St. Clair that the university had violated its reporting
obligations for the past 10 years. That is
unconscionable.
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Marquette is the second major Midwestern
university to come under intense public scrutiny for the way it
responds to students’ claims of rape or other sexual attacks. Notre
Dame was blistered by critics for its handling of sexual battery
allegations in the 2010 case of ElizabethÂ
“list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;”>”Lizzy”
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In that case, campus police didn’t
interview the accused until two weeks
afterÂ
“list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;”>Seeberg
the alleged assault to them.
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By that time, she had committed
suicide.
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Both universities now say they’ve
improved the way they deal with such cases. That’s good. The key
point for them, and for every college in America:
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Don’t try to bury allegations of sexual
assault with protocol and process.
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Make sure campus police are well-trained
to stabilize a situation in which a sexual assault is
alleged.
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That includes making sure the alleged
victim gets prompt medical attention and some immediate measure of
security.
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And then make sure campus authorities,
even if they’re sworn police officers, quickly turn over the case
to local police and … get out of the way. The potential for
conflicts of interests are just too great. Let the local criminal
justice system do its job.
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Earlier this summer, a Tribune survey of
six Midwestern universities uncovered some facts that won’t be
reassuring to women reporting to campuses across the country right
now, or to their parents.
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Among the findings: Women who report
sexual violence seldom see their accused attackers arrested and
almost never see them convicted.
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The rates of arrests and convictions for
sexual assault on campus are much lower than those averages for
rape reported in the general population nationally.
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The stats: About one in every four rapes
reported nationally results in an arrest. Of those, about 62
percent bring convictions.
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By comparison, the Tribune’s analysis
found that at those six surveyed universities, law enforcement made
one arrest for every 14 alleged sex crimes of all types reported on
campus; of those, the conviction rate was 33 percent.
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No wonder some college women believe
that university officials and their police forces operate a system
designed to protect the image and reputation of the university
first, not to help municipal or county police aggressively
investigate allegations of sexual crimes.
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Law enforcement and campus officials
respond that student-on-student sexual assault cases are difficult
to pursue. Often alcohol or other drugs are involved and there are
conflicting accounts of whether sexual contact was
consensual.
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Granted, many rape cases are difficult
prosecutions, on campus or off.
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All the more reason for college
officials to quickly hand allegations of rape and other sex crimes
to local authorities, who generally have greater resources and
greater independence to investigate.
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By not reporting sexual assaults to
police, Marquette officials opened themselves to accusations of
trying to keep those attacks out of the public eye, even if that
was not their intent.
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Marquette spokesman
KateÂ
“list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;”>Venne
us that the school “is aggressively addressing the issue of
sexualÂ
“list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial;”>violence.”
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One major change: Marquette policy now
requires campus officials to promptly report all sexual assault
allegations to the Milwaukee police. Smart move.
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Parents sending children to college each
fall pose one question above all others: Will he, or she, be
safe?
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Full transparency about dangers on and
near campus only enhance that safety by helping students understand
what places or situations to avoid.
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The paradox, then, is that when school
officials try to keep campus sexual assaults off the local police
blotter, they ultimately risk the reputations of their institutions
and the safety of their students.
- MCT Campus