Approximately 23.% female and 5.4% of males undergraduate students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. (https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence), 80% of which go unreported to the police according to the Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey, " Rape and Sexual Victimization Among College-Aged Females, 1995-2013" (2014).
The Clery Act requires any institution that receives federal funding to be transparent on violence on campus, as well as other violations (alcohol, stalking, drugs). Colleges must disseminate a Annual Security Report (ASR) with statistics of campus crime. Most colleges will post on their website, typically under public safety or related security office their Clery Report.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. This includes most schools, including private institutions and grades K-12.
Title IX addresses sexual harassment, sexual violence, or any gender-based discrimination that may deny a person access to educational benefits and opportunities.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while attending college. Under Title IX, schools must ensure that all students have equal access to education, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Sexual harassment and sexual violence are forms of gender discrimination that are prohibited by Title IX, including when the incident(s) occur off-campus or involve people who are not students.
Schools must proactive respond to allegations of sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence and other forms of gender biased violence, retaliation, and must respond to claims in a prompt and safe manner. The accuser and the accused both have rights, that must be provided. Under Title IX the school is required to provide a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation.
The problem that schools encounter is the lack of training and experience the Title IX coordinator has investigating these sensitive cases. Our investigators are trained and experienced in interviewing victims and suspects of such offenses. They have served on Sexual Assault Response Teams, have been involved in Title IX investigations and have experience and training to provide an accurate investigative report that allows for colleges to move forward in the Title IX process in confidence.
Executive Director of the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) recommended that institutions consider the use of outside investigators when: (a) completing a timely investigation requires more investigators than the institution can field internally; (b) completing a thorough investigation requires specialized or technical expertise which is not possessed internally by the institution; (c) the investigation produces evidence of institutional noncompliance; and (d) it appears the investigation will receive excessive scrutiny.