New guidelines alone cannot fix gender issues

Institutions of higher education are reforming their gender discrimination policies in an attempt to make campuses safer for female students.

This is the first editorial in a series of two about gender issues at Duke. Today we will explore new federal guidelines on gender equity. Tomorrow we will discuss the potential of campus culture to create change.

This wave of changes follows a complaint filed against Yale University by a group of current students and recent graduates. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights is investigating the complaint, which alleges that Yale has violated Title IX—the federal gender equality law—by “failing to eliminate a hostile sexual environment on campus.” Examples of this hostility on Yale’s campus include Yale fraternity members holding posters in front of the university Women’s Center that read “We Love Yale Sluts” and an incident last October where fraternity pledges went through residential quadrangles chanting sexist slogans.

The developments at Yale have not gone unnoticed. Earlier this month, Vice President Joe Biden announced new clarifications to Title IX, adding that “when it comes to sexual abuse, it is quite simple: No means no.” These new clarifications include a recommended change in the level of evidence needed to find a person guilty of sexual assault.

Currently many colleges require “clear and convincing” evidence to find the accused party guilty of sexual misconduct. The Department of Education aims to lessen this burden of proof by recommending that colleges instead look for a “preponderance of evidence”—a standard that basically requires 51 percent certainty before finding a person guilty. In light of this change, Stanford University announced Tuesday that it has lowered its burden of proof to fit the preponderance of evidence standard. Duke will likely follow suit in adapting to the Title IX clarifications.

This transition in lowering the burden of proof is a good step forward. But Duke and its peer institutions cannot afford to wait for sexual misconduct to occur to take action. In addition to changing their Title IX standards, colleges must address the aspects of campus culture that objectify women and perpetuate gender violence.

According to the Office of Gender Violence Prevention and Intervention and the Duke Women’s Center, of the 72 students who received service between July and December 2010, there were 17 sexual assault cases, 15 instances of sexual harassment and 12 instances of rape. Recent Department of Education data show that 20 percent of women in college will be victims of actual or attempted sexual assault.

It is time that we stand together and combat pernicious attitudes about women on Duke’s campus. Female students should not be afraid to report instances of violence out of fear of being labeled a “slut.” Students need to be aware of what qualifies as sexual assault and how they can report it. There is no reason that a female student at Duke should leave campus with lower self-esteem than when she entered.