Responding to Reports of Sexual Abuse of Students, Past and Present – The Convergence of Attitudes and Expectations
From our friend and colleague, David Wolowitz…
Recently, the responses of independent schools to reports of past abuse of students by faculty have received intense scrutiny by the news media, social media, survivors, victim’s lawyers and alumni. Why is this happening now?
I believe we are in a period of cultural change in which there is a convergence of attitudes and expectations relating to sexual abuse of students, without regard to when it occurred or whether the abuser was an adult or another student. Attitudes and expectations about the extent and nature of sexual abuse of students have evolved dramatically and swiftly in the past few years, spurred by the federal government’s focus on Title IX violations in colleges and universities. Students, parents, alumni and the media now see student sexual assault in colleges as a systemic issue, rather than a school-by-school issue. Victims have formed survivor groups to provide support and advocacy. Prevention efforts have proliferated and have received bi-partisan support locally and nationally.
Starting a few years ago, recent graduates who were going through Title IX orientations at their new colleges began sharing what they learned with their friends still in prep schools. Soon, attitudes and expectations around the issues relating to student sexual assault had spread from colleges to independent schools. A substantial increase in reports of sexual assaults in independent schools followed. Subsequently, independent schools have strengthened their policies on sexual misconduct and significantly expanded their prevention and education efforts.
Today’s independent school students, parents and alumni are highly aware of and concerned about issues relating to sexual assault of students. They expect all schools to address the issues comprehensively, from prevention to response. They have basic expectations about how reports of sexual abuse of a student will be handled. For example, they expect that allegations of abuse will be investigated. They expect victims to be supported and perpetrators to be punished. They want assurances that the school is safe and that the administration is doing all it can to prevent abuse. Student victims of sexual abuse no longer feel so isolated. Survivors groups provide support and advocacy. Discussions over social media are common and robust. Articles and reports are constantly in the news.
To read the rest of this piece by attorney David Wolowitz, please click here.
David Wolowitz is the co-chair of the McLane Middleton law firm’s Education Law Practice Group. His practice focuses on the representation of independent schools. He is a pioneer in introducing training on professional boundaries to independent schools. David regularly consults with schools nationally and internationally on issues relating to student safety, risk prevention and crisis response.