TORONTO – Colleges and universities across the United States are being investigated over how they handle sexual abuse complaints.
In an unprecedented move on Thursday, the White House named every U.S. college and university, 55 in total, currently under investigation in relation to sexual assault complaints.
It’s the first time the government’s education department has released a complete list of schools being investigated for potential violations of a public law about sexual equality in educational institutions.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states that “no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”
In addition to ensuring women have equal access to sports programs on campuses, Title IX also prohibits gender discrimination at schools that receive federal funds. It also regulates an institution’s handling of sexual violence and requires schools to proactively prevent sexual crimes.
Thursday’s news comes as U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration seeks to shed light on the problem of sexual assault in higher education.
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Obama launched a task force to address the issue of sexual assault following complaints about the poor treatment of rape victims on American campuses.
The task force launched notalone.gov, which offers resources for victims of sexual crimes and information on how to prevent such crimes on campus.
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The list of schools includes Ivy League institutions Princeton and Harvard, private universities like the University of Chicago and Knox College, and public universities like Florida State and Penn State.
The assistant secretary of education for civil rights, Catherine E. Lhamon, said that just because a school is on the list, however, does not mean that it has violated the law.
Dartmouth is one of the many schools who said it was working to make improvements, after a compliance review prompted an investigation.
“We are hopeful at the end of this there will be a resolution that will strengthen our internal processes and result in a safer community,” said Dartmouth spokesman Justin Anderson on Thursday.
“There’s always something we can learn and ways to get better.”
The department of education said that going forward it would keep the list of schools updated and make it publicly available when requested.
With files from The Associated Press
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