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Some Sexual-Assault Reports To Be Granted Anonymity At Ohio University

Did Ohio University just imply that it will only investigate half of the sexual-assault reports it receives going forward?

The school has added an “anonymity” option for students who tell the school they were sexually assaulted, The Post reports:

It effectively ends Ohio University’s investigation since the victim’s name is removed from the process, said Martha Compton, director of the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility. …

“In some cases, students aren’t meaning to make a report, and instead they are trying to ask for assistance or resources, but they disclose this information to someone required to report it,” Compton said.

About 50 percent of sexual assault cases are reported to university officials by victims who do not want the alleged crime investigated, Compton said. …

The university will not grant anonymity to all students who report a case of sexual assault and will be given on a case by case basis, said Dianne Bouvier, interim executive director at the Office of Institutional Inequity.

That will depend on whether the alleged attack involved “use of force with a weapon or significant physical violence,” or if the alleged perp had been the subject of “prior allegations,” Compton said.

Given the prevalence of alcohol use by both parties prior to reported sexual assaults, as opposed to weapons or “significant” violence, this would seem to remove a sizable chunk of accused students from potentially going through the campus disciplinary process.

That depends on how much administrators use their discretion, though.

Read the full Post story here.

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About the Author
Associate Editor
Greg Piper served as associate editor of The College Fix from 2014 to 2021.