Anyone who knows me understands how much I admire and respect Vice President Joe Biden.
From the Biden and outgoing President Obama memes that sprang up after the election to his support of blue-collar families and manufacturing jobs, the vice president is nothing short of a class act.
When he made tackling sexual assault on college campuses one of his key points in the last term, that admiration solidified.
While I did not approve of everything the Obama administration did during the last eight years, I admired that it, and in particular the vice president, brought sexual assault to the forefront of national politics.
Biden spearheaded the “1 is 2 Many” initiative, the goal of which is to reduce date rape among young adults. This is an admirable goal and something I had hoped the Trump administration would continue.
That hope is quietly dying out now due to the confirmation hearing of the nominated secretary of education, Betsy DeVos.
Her lack of comments on what she will do to combat sexual assault on college campuses is worrying and could have significant influence on how sexual assault is dealt with in the upcoming years.
A 2014 study by the White House revealed troubling statistics about sexual assault.
One in five women will be raped at some point in her life, and almost half of these rapes occur by the age of 18.
More than half the assailants knew the victim, and 98 percent of assailants were male.
While the numbers were staggeringly high across the board for all racial groups, multiracial women and Native American women suffered from higher percentages of rape.
As the Trump administration gets ready for the next four years, it needs to have a comprehensive way to attack this problem.
So far, we are a long way from any solution we could even call workable.
DeVos claimed she could not commit to carrying out the “1 is 2 Many” initiative. I would like to hear her own suggestion to prevent rape if she does not believe that this method was the right one.
Her contributions to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education make me even more wary because the foundation is suing the administration over this very initiative and saying makes it easier for false rape accusations.
Considering the fact that less than between 2 and 8 percent of rape victims lie about being attacked, this lawsuit may not have the most merit.
I’m not qualified to comment on Mrs. DeVos’ charter school policy or her political contributions.
I can, however, say this lack of energy and initiative is appalling.
Rape is a crime that can lead to various mental health illnesses, personal problems and suicide.
Let’s at least address it.
npatwari@umail.iu.edu
