Women's rights group sue Trump's Education Department for 'discriminating against victims of campus sexual assault'

'We want to make that statement very clear to this administration: That they don’t get to roll back the clock.'

President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos make "U" symbols with their hands while posing with the Utah Skiing team (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

A consortium of women’s rights groups have sued the Trump administration for implementing policies they say violate the rights of campus sexual assault survivors.

The Victims Rights Law Centre, Equal Rights Advocates, and SurvJustice – a not-for-profit that provides legal help to survivors – filed suit against the Department of Education over its new gender discrimination policy. The complainants say recent reforms to the policy, known as Title IX, have opened the door to discrimination against survivors.

“We’ve seen a silencing effect in the most critical time of year, which is the fall,” said SurvJustice founder Laura Dunn, referring to a time period known as “the red zone,” when new students first arrive on campus.

Ms Dunn said her group usually receives the bulk of their complaint around this time, but they have seen a marked decrease this year.

“We definitely saw a detrimental effect and we know why,” Ms Dunn told The Independent. “It was the intent of the Trump administration to curtail survivors.”

The Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced the changes to the Title IX policy in September. She vowed to end a "failed" Obama-era system and replace it with a new one offering more protections for the accused. The move was heralded by activists who felt the government had become overzealous in its crackdown on campus sexual assault.

"Schools must continue to confront these horrific crimes and behaviours head-on,” Ms DeVos said at the time. “There will be no more sweeping them under the rug. But the process also must be fair and impartial, giving everyone more confidence in its outcomes."

The Secretary announced the end of Obama-era initiatives aimed at holding schools accountable for assaults that take place on campus. She implemented new rules allowing schools to use a higher standard of evidence in sexual assault cases, and removed the recommendation that they resolve complaints within 60 days.

Ms Dunn said she was particularly struck by the new recommendations for disciplining students found guilty of sexual misconduct. The new guidelines instruct schools to “consider the impact of separating a student from her or his education” when discipling perpetrators.

The recommendation struck Ms Dunn as a concession to assailants.

“Title IX was not created to protect abusers, period. It was created to protect victims of discrimination,” she said.

Ms Dunn said her group tried numerous times to meet with Ms DeVos during the months-long comment period after the new rules were announced. After four months of failed attempts, SurvJustice decided to turn to the courts to get their complaints heard.

“There is a ‘Me too’ movement happening,” Ms Dunn said. “Survivors are speaking out, and we are standing for the change that is happening. And we are doing so in court, which is not a space a lot of people can access.”

She added: “We want to make that statement very clear to this administration: That they don’t get to roll back the clock.”

The Education Department expects to debut more Title IX reforms in March, according to the Washington Examiner. A department source told the outlet the new rules will focus on "reducing overreach the department has engaged in in the past," in an effort to "[free] up educators and administrators and institutions to actually serve students rather than be more worried about compliance."