{"id":109626,"date":"2021-03-15T20:18:05","date_gmt":"2021-03-15T20:18:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=109626"},"modified":"2021-03-15T20:18:05","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T20:18:05","slug":"the-virus-is-protecting-me-remote-learning-is-keeping-many-sexual-assault-survivors-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/politics\/the-virus-is-protecting-me-remote-learning-is-keeping-many-sexual-assault-survivors-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Virus Is Protecting Me’: Remote Learning Is Keeping Many Sexual Assault Survivors Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced hundreds of thousands of college students to learn remotely over the past year. Many have missed out on in-person classes, socializing with friends and, for the class of 2020, graduating in person with their classmates.<\/span><\/p>\n

But for some sexual assault survivors, the online learning that came with the pandemic has been a godsend \u2015 a true \u201csafe haven,\u201d one student told HuffPost.<\/span><\/p>\n

The virus is protecting some victims better than their own universities did, according to a new report from anti-sexual violence organization <\/span>KnowYourIX<\/span>. An issue student victims often face is that their school\u2019s Title IX office, tasked with overseeing sexual assault investigations, will refuse to grant or enforce no-contact orders between a survivor and their attacker. Often, this leads victims to stop going to certain classes or even drop out of school altogether. Nearly 40% of student survivors who reported sexual violence to their schools experienced a \u201csubstantial disruption in their educations,\u201d KnowYourIX\u2019s survey of more than 100 student survivors found. Of those, 27% took a leave of absence, 20% transferred schools and almost 10% dropped out altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remote learning effectively became that no-contact order for survivors who were unable to get those protections from their schools. \u201cThe virus is protecting me from my assailant (since the school wasn\u2019t going to),\u201d one respondent said in KnowYourIX\u2019s report.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt took the entire country shutting down for me to feel safe. It feels like a real slap in the face,\u201d said\u00a0<\/span>Michaela, a student sexual assault survivor at a university in Massachusetts who asked to be identified only by their first name. \u201cA university that I have funneled tens of thousands of dollars into \u2015 all of my time, all of my effort, all of my energy \u2015 and they couldn\u2019t even ensure my protection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Although remote learning doesn\u2019t stop abusers from communicating with victims via social media, it does ensure survivors can continue their education. \u201cWhat was the most shocking to me was that all of the survivors who were \u2018thankful\u2019 for COVID also shared that they didn\u2019t think they would have been able to complete their classes if they hadn\u2019t been moved online,\u201d KnowYourIX manager Sage Carson told HuffPost.<\/span><\/p>\n

For many sexual assault survivors, it can be extremely difficult to continually see their abusers in class, in their dorm rooms, at social events or just around campus. Title IX was created to ensure everyone can receive an education without fear of sex-based discrimination \u2015 and sexual harassment and misconduct is a part of that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen survivors are looking over their shoulder in fear of seeing the person who harassed, assaulted, stalked or abused them, it can be impossible to participate in school the way your peers can,\u201d said Carson. \u201cFor many survivors, not having to fear seeing their assailant can be the difference between them staying in school or not. I think this is why so many survivors are so grateful to not be on campus right now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Jackie, who asked that her real name not be used in this story, is a sexual assault survivor who graduated last year from a university in New England. She said her Title IX investigation wrapped the day before her school announced it would transition to remote learning. As a resident assistant, Jackie was on campus for two more weeks to help with the transition. Her assailant was also an RA, and although he had been put on leave from his job in the wake of the Title IX investigation, his RA keycard still gave him access to most buildings on campus including Jackie\u2019s dorm building.<\/p>\n

The night after Jackie\u2019s perpetrator was notified of her Title IX complaint against him, she found her dorm room whiteboard vandalized. \u201cI can\u2019t sleep now, I\u2019ll sleep soon SLUT,\u201d read the message on her whiteboard. Although Jackie reported the vandalism, and evidence that her assailant had been in the building that night, her school took no action.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt extremely unsafe for those couple of weeks we were both on campus,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce I left campus, I knew that I was safe. I knew he was far away from me and he couldn\u2019t get to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackie moved in with her sister a couple of hours away from campus. She still battled panic attacks, flashbacks and online harassment from her perpetrator\u2019s friends, but not seeing her abuser every day on campus allowed her to breathe a little bit easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemote learning was such a relief. I felt like I had so much weight on me, but once I left campus it was taken off,\u201d she said. \u201cThe pandemic was a safe haven for me.\u201d Jackie\u2019s school didn\u2019t contact her about how the Title IX investigation concluded until the end of April. The school said there was insufficient credible evidence to find the accused guilty.<\/p>\n

Emma Taylor, an acting major at a college in northwest New York, told HuffPost she was assaulted on her birthday two years ago, and it left deep trauma: \u201cI don\u2019t celebrate anymore.\u201d Taylor reported her assault in February 2020, a month before the pandemic hit the country. Taylor spent entire nights and days in \u201cdebilitating panic attacks\u201d because they were surrounded by triggers just by being on campus. (Taylor uses both \u201cshe\u201d and \u201cthey\u201d pronouns and is referred to by both in this piece.)<\/p>\n

Taylor said she only instigated the Title IX investigation after finding it impossible to attend school with her abuser \u201cwhile staying sane.\u201d So they were thrilled when her school started talking about the possibility of remote learning due to COVID-19 after spring break last March.<\/p>\n

\u201cMind you, I\u2019m an acting major, so taking classes remotely is almost entirely ineffective,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBut I\u2019d already spent two semesters so distracted by my PTSD that I was hardly gaining anything from my education anyways. I had made peace with finishing the last two semesters solely to finish the degree that\u2019s taken money I don\u2019t have and left trauma I\u2019ll always have.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Taylor\u2019s school concluded her Title IX complaint at the end of April, finding the person she had accused of sexual assault not guilty due to a lack of evidence. Remote learning due to COVID-19 quickly became Taylor\u2019s only option to put distance between her and her assailant. Taking classes online allowed Taylor to eliminate environmental triggers, avoid running into her attacker and stop worrying about which friends supported her or her perpetrator. But her frustration with how her school handled her Title IX case remained.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy disappointment was born the night of the assault and has been growing since to almost completely consume my thoughts at this point. I feel let down, abandoned and nauseous about the school\u2019s handling of my case,\u201d they said. \u201cRemote learning being a lucky last chance at protection was absolutely depressing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another unexpected silver lining that came with COVID-19\u2019s remote learning was that survivors were able to be around their strongest support network: their families. Jackie said moving in with her sister and her sister\u2019s family was one of the best distractions she could have asked for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were honestly times I wanted to give up because I was so exhausted,\u201d she said. \u201cBut being with my sister and my nieces and nephews, I felt like I had a reason to keep pushing and keep moving forward because I wanted to be strong for them. I wanted them to see that their aunt could continue her studies through a pandemic and finish her thesis and go to graduate school \u2015 all while fighting this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Michaela, the student from the school in Massachusetts who uses \u201cthey\u201d and \u201cshe\u201d pronouns, said being around family and being in their childhood home was an added comfort they didn\u2019t realize they needed. \u201cIt was really nice to be directly near people who had my best interest at heart and knew me much more deeply than my roommates at the time,\u201d Michaela said. \u201cIt made it so much easier to deal with everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Title IX sexual assault investigation system has never been perfect since its inception with the Obama administration\u2019s Dear Colleague Letter, which is a set of guidelines that clarify what schools\u2019 Title IX enforcement responsibilities are under the law. Colleges, universities and K-12 schools have a wide range of needs, and often Title IX guidance is subjective and its implementation can vary depending on campus climate and school administrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Title IX adjudication <\/span>only got worse<\/span> when then-President Donald Trump appointed Betsy DeVos as education secretary in 2017. DeVos completely reshaped how colleges approach sexual misconduct allegations by speeding up investigations, adding protections for those accused, and allowing schools to skirt responsibility for assaults entirely if they take place off campus. DeVos\u2019 new policy, implemented in August 2020, took\u00a0<\/span>heavy guidance from so-called men\u2019s rights activists<\/span>, who believe there\u2019s a rampant crisis of false rape allegations against men.<\/span><\/p>\n

President Joe Biden <\/span>signed an executive order<\/span> this week directing the U.S. Department of Education to review DeVos\u2019 current Title IX guidelines to \u201censure consistency with the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s policy that students be guaranteed education free from sexual violence.\u201d Hopefully, the Biden administration will correct past missteps, but it will\u00a0<\/span>take some time<\/span> \u2015 time that current student survivors don\u2019t have.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat a pandemic is keeping some survivors safer than their school may be one of clearest ways to show how little schools prioritize survivors\u2019 safety,\u201d said Carson from KnowYourIX. \u201cIt shouldn\u2019t take a global pandemic for survivors to be able to go to class without fearing for their safety.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Need help? Visit RAINN\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>National Sexual Assault Online Hotline<\/em>\u00a0or the\u00a0<\/em>National Sexual Violence Resource Center\u2019s website<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

RELATED…<\/h3>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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