ACLU - The Right to Safe Housing on College Campuses
The following segment was taken from the ACLU website. Document date September 22, 2010.
The Right to Safe Housing on College Campuses for Survivors of Sexual Assault, Stalking, Domestic Violence, and Dating Violence
Students have the right to an effective response from their college or university when they report that they have been the victims of stalking, sexual assault or harassment, or intimate partner violence. A key component of a school’s response is providing safe housing. The law prohibits schools from
discriminating against students in residential services because they suffered gender-based violence, and requires schools to present victims with housing options.
How do sexual assault, stalking, and dating and domestic violence jeopardize equal educational opportunity and student housing?
Sexual harassment, stalking, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence can have devastating effects on the ability of students to continue their education. Students often know the perpetrators of the violence or harassment against them and see them on a regular basis. In the case of sexual assault, for example, a staggering 80-90% of on-campus victims know their attackers.(1) About six times as many sexual assaults occur in on-campus residence halls than do off-campus.(2)
Read full article on ACLU website from link below or from the PDF link below.
1 Bonnie S. Fisher, Francis T. Cullen & Michael G. Turner, U.S.
Dep’t of Justice, Nat’l Inst. of Justice, The Sexual Victimization of
College Women 17 (2000), available at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/
pubs-sum/182369.htm.
2 U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Summary Crime Statistics for 2006-2008,
Criminal Offenses 5, http://www2.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/
campus.html#data.
