Many IU victims do not seek rape justice

Editor’s note: This is part two in a three-part series about rape at IU. Thursday’s part looks at the causes of rape and what is being done to fix the problem.\nAfter Mallory Deckard reported she was raped her freshman year, she didn’t know what she could do to help convict her accused rapist. About a week after the incident, Deckard reported the rape to the IU Police Department. But she decided not to go through with the legal process after she was advised by IUPD that she didn’t have much of a case without physical evidence.\nBecause the case was known as a “he said, she said,” Deckard never saw justice. Later, Deckard realized rape victims have the option of having their perpetrators go through the Campus Judicial System, where offenders might be suspended or even expelled. But her perpetrator was not a student.\n“I think that somebody should be telling you that if somebody does this, they can be expelled,” Deckard said. \nSeven sexual assault cases in the last two school years were reported to a University official, according to a personal misconduct report from the Office of Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Programs. The office does not keep track of what types of cases saw which punishment, if any. In other words, seven sexual assault cases were reported, but it is difficult to determine if any of them saw punishment with the judicial board’s system. Most commonly, the sanctions for sexual assault are disciplinary probation or suspension, said Pam Freeman, associate dean of students and director in the Office of Student Ethics.\nThough expulsion for sexual assault is an option, Freeman said it is rare that a student is expelled for sexual assault at IU. Typically, sanctions include disciplinary probation or suspension.\n“The basic philosophy is trying not to expel students,” Freeman said. “Because we’re an educational system. (We want to) end up with an outcome that holds the students appropriately accountable, protects the community and allows the students to complete the degree objective. ... We are the response, we’re not the prevention.”\nThe Campus Judicial System does not determine whether the perpetrator committed a crime, Freeman said. Instead, it examines whether the student violated University Code. Freeman, along with a committee comprised of students, faculty and staff, not only helped draft the student code but also attend judicial hearings that decide if a student is guilty of violating the code.\nUnlike a legal court where victims must prove the crime occurred “beyond a shadow of a doubt,” the system uses “clear and convincing” as their standard for imposing punishment on a student, said IU Dean of Students Dick McKaig.\nEven in situations where the accused does not receive a legal punishment, he can still be found guilty of violating University Code. \n“Our goal isn’t to punish,” Freeman said. “It is to hold accountable and educate.” \nFurthermore, the code doesn’t use the word “rape.” IU categorizes rape under the umbrella of sexual assault. Delegates representing many University sectors discussed the Code’s specific language, but the term rape was rejected.\n“The task was to get legal terms out of it,” she said. “We’re not a legal system. We’re not a court.” \nThough Freeman identifies rape as a “grossly underreported offense,” she said even the reports that do get to her office rarely make it through the system. Most people don’t want to go through a formal process, she said. Like the criminal justice system, students using the University’s system often don’t want to see their peers expelled because they are part of a broader social network, she said. Victims sometimes will blame themselves, she said. \n“As much as we will hold rallies and talk about victim blaming, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen,” McKaig said. “Victims can say to themselves ‘I’m partially responsible for this’ and that undermines their confidence in going forward.” \nAlso like the criminal justice system, victims’ wishes are an important factor in going forth with a case in the Campus Judicial System, Freeman said. \n“Nobody will report if they don’t think they have any say,” she said. “And then we’ll be worse off than we are now in terms of reporting to the systems that are here to help hold people accountable. They’ve already lost control. If they think this system’s just going to further take all control away, why would they report?” \nCarol McCord, assistant dean of the Office for Women’s Affairs, said the campus system can be empowering because it is often quicker and easier to get a response through it. She emphasized that though using this system can be empowering to victims, it still does not always produce the desired result, which can be frustrating. \n“You know what happened to you,” McCord said. “That’s real and totally separate from what the system does.”