Mariska Hargitays Lack Of Support For Victims Of Sexual Assault

“Over half a million women are raped in this country every year, and only a fraction of them report it because they’re too ashamed. It’s a really screwed up world, but it’s not your fault, and what happened to you, it doesn’t make you the monster” is a quote from Mariska Hargitay. She is an American actress, director, and producer that refers to the lack of support for victims of sexual assault. College campuses should follow in Mariska Hargitays’ footsteps since she is a key role model for supporting survivors of sexual assault. The victim needs to be the top priority to avoid the trauma of their assault being compounded by the lack of support and disciplinary action. College campuses must ensure safety among the large numbers of victimized

women as they complete their education. The victim’s rights need to be prioritized amongst society, no matter how difficult they may be to protect.
Campus systems must change their philosophy of educational verdicts in an effort to achieve justice on the victim’s behalf. Many victims of sexual assault end up realizing that “campus disciplinary boards are more invested in protecting the school’s reputation than in seeking justice” (Goldberg 13). Colleges have the responsibility to protect all of their students, both men and women. But, students who are responsible for alleged sexual assaults should be faced with serious consequences that fit the crime. Disciplinary actions should hold the perpetrators accountable instead of reflecting the mission of higher education. Having the mission of higher education includes several proceedings not punishing students, but rather teaching them instead. Without proper punishment, victims are left feeling doubly assaulted while their alleged attackers remain on campus. Verdicts should be punitive, not educational opportunities. Modest sanctions are only a slap on the wrist for the perpetrators, while “people go to jail for these crimes in the real world” (Lombardi 6). Perpetrators will not change their ways and will believe that they can commit sexual assault repeatedly since expulsion is rare. Schools should dole out harsher punishment, such as expulsion, more often in an effort to change assailants’ intentions. Campus systems may need to expel any student who commits an act of sexual assault, which Duke University has as its current practice. If campus disciplinary boards focus on a philosophy of proper punishment, innocent victims will find redress due to their school striving to achieve justice for them.
Along with changing the philosophy to expel more often, the college judicial process must be trained to be able to handle serious crimes, specifically sexual assault. Several school disciplinary boards are not equipped to handle sexual assault due to them being “composed of faculty, administrators, and sometimes students” (Goldberg 13). Adjudication boards “don’t have training in the law, investigation or the use of physical evidence,” because honor-code violations, such as plagiarism, are the cases they are qualified to deal with (Goldberg 13). But somehow college disciplinary boards are faced with the campus rape crisis. Universities cannot ignore the reports of assault, and all members of the disciplinary board must be trained to be able to respond to sexual violence effectively. College disciplinary processes have the duty to protect their students from rapists, and they need to be professionalized to be suitable as victims’ advocates. Sexual assault is a felony offense, and “having trained campus detectives manage the investigations” is a prime example of how universities can properly respond to sexual violence on campus (Goldberg 16). College disciplinary boards also need to be respectful of victims who have come forward so that campus rape survivors are more likely to report their attack. Faculty and administrators who are a part of school disciplinary boards should be able to work with local law enforcement in dealing with sexual assault cases. Specialized training should also be required for any school officials that deal with sexual assault. By adding structure to the approach of colleges that deal with campus sexual assault, the days of the victims being blamed can be eliminated.
Clarifying schools’ obligation to follow the Title IX requirements would help prevent the victim from reliving their traumatic experience.

Many schools don’t take sexual assault as a serious matter, but “Title IX obligates schools to take action on sexual assault” (Goldberg 14). Efforts need to be made to force schools to take sexual assault more seriously, and the “Dear Colleague” letter is a leading example that colleges must follow. The “Dear Colleague” letter was able to “scare colleges and universities about the possibility of losing federal funding if they didn’t do what the government wanted them to do” (Goldberg 14). The federal government should withhold funding often if colleges fail at fulfilling the Title IX requirements. There would be more protection for the victims as well as a greater possibility of justice being attained for the victim. The “Dear Colleague” letter made universities revise their sexual harassment guidelines as well as give students and staff resources to raise awareness and prevention of sexual assault. Schools must “end a so-called ‘hostile environment’; prevent its future occurrence; and restore victims’ lives” under Title IX (Lombardi 7). If punishment fails to meet these requirements, Title IX is potentially violated. Title IX gives no reference to educating the offender because it is a civil right that prohibits sexual discrimination and enforces schools to be proactive in ensuring an environment free of sexual discrimination. Under Title IX, expulsion seems appears to be a given since leaving a perpetrator on the college campus is a gateway to a hostile environment. Universities must investigate and address any instances of sexual misconduct, instead of waiting for potential victims to bring allegations forward. The federal government should regularly investigate college campuses if they are satisfying the Title IX requirements. If universities are failing to do so, then the schools’ reputations should take a hit

and their federal funding should be taken away. One of the main points of Title IX is that you are protected under it even if you do not experience sexual harassment directly. If one aspect of Title IX is not fulfilled, victims of sexual assault are in danger of having to encounter their assailants over and over, which is injustice toward the victim.
In the end, the safety and rights of the victim of sexual assault should have a profound measure of protection. College systems have the responsibility to assure victims that sexual assault crimes result in serious punishment, such as expulsion. Insuring the security and justice of individuals, especially survivors of sexual assault, is reflective of a secure nation. Victims of rape will always have the memory of their painful experience. But the college systems, the federal government, and the U.S. Department of Education can direct their efforts to increase the awareness of sexual assault against many female college students to try to achieve justice for them. Giving the victim’s a clear description of their institution’s disciplinary process and enforcing a no contact directive are only a couple ways the United States can move towards a country free of sexual assault.