Campus Sexual Assault Adjudication and Resistance to Reform

65 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2016

Date Written: April 19, 2016

Abstract

The forty-year history of rape law reform sheds light on current debates around the adjudication of campus sexual assault. Two strands of rape law reform are important. The first, a progressive reform movement, abolished the unique procedural hurdles in rape prosecutions. That movement is now transforming the key elements of the crime: force and nonconsent. The second reform movement, conservative in nature, increased criminal and civil punishments for rape. While there has been a backlash to the reformation of force and nonconsent, there has been little political or scholarly opposition to the imposition of increased punishments for rape. The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education recently clarified that Title IX, which outlaws sex discrimination in education, requires colleges and universities to respond promptly and equitably to allegations of campus sexual assault. In addition, colleges and universities are increasingly adopting affirmative consent rules, a standard higher than most state criminal codes, to govern sexual activity on campus. These progressive changes in campus sexual assault adjudication have faced a backlash, mirroring the backlash to progressive rape law reform. Rape law’s evolution over time suggests not only that we should support campus adjudication of sexual assault under an affirmative consent standard, but also that we should oppose both unique procedural protections for those accused and mandatory punishments for those found responsible.

Keywords: rape, sexual assault, campus sexual assault, rape law, campus adjudication

Suggested Citation

Anderson, Michelle J., Campus Sexual Assault Adjudication and Resistance to Reform (April 19, 2016). 125 Yale Law Journal, 2016 (Forthcoming), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2767058

Michelle J. Anderson (Contact Author)

Brooklyn College ( email )

Brooklyn, NY 11215
United States

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