Dr. Brigitte Alexander (SART Bronx Hospital), Kamala Lopez, attorney Wendy Murphy, Alison M. Shea (New England Law Boston), Natalie White
By ordering educational institutions to violate Title IX, disregard the law and flout the constitution, DeVos and this administration are deliberately making matters even worse for women and girls on college campuses, where one in four will be sexually assaulted. Less than 5% of victims even report their assault with Title IX in place. Imagine the chilling effect this new order now has on young women who have been raped and are considering reporting their assault. It’s just not right. It’s absolutely the wrong direction.
Obama’s “Dear Colleague letter of 2011” (that the DeVos order is responding to and attempting to rescind) never created new policy, despite misinformation to the contrary. That letter was simply a stern reminder to the schools to enforce Title IX’s civil rights protections for women and girls so we could start doing better.
Apparently, despite 50 years of Title IX working to provide equality for women on campuses, this crucial law is not something Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration are interested in enforcing or bolstering with honest intent. In fact, they are doing the opposite; clearly doubling down on their civil rights attacks against women and girls as evidenced by multiple recent actions.
Permitting these illegal actions to proceed unhindered and unchallenged is dangerous. Equal Means Equal will not stand idly by wringing our hands and “condemning” their disgraceful actions as young women lose their few hard-fought rights. As I said in the press conference: