ABSTRACT

One of the most transformative approaches to addressing sexual violence that campuses have identified is to harness the effectiveness of a civil rights investigation model akin to how campuses address other forms of discrimination. As forms of sex/gender discrimination, sexual violence and sexual harassment are especially amenable to resolution using a civil rights model. The goal of protecting civil rights and remedying invidious discrimination supports the argument for a stand-alone, specific set of policies and procedures to address all alleged acts of discrimination. As the Department of Education and the Department of Justice heighten their regulatory and compliance activities, institutions have a window of opportunity to unify their civil rights-based policies and complaint resolution procedures; the governmental microscope provides an impetus for needed, if difficult, change. Institutions should give consideration to shifting their civil rights-based complaint resolution processes for Title IX from constituency-based to violation-based.