Confronting child sex trafficking on campus
Child sex trafficking isn’t the first thing most people think of when they consider sexual harassment and assault in higher education. But it’s more common than you may think. And perpetrators are almost all white, male academics, according to a study by Lori Handrahan, Ph.D. More than half held leadership positions on campus.
It’s perhaps significant that the findings come from an independent scholar, meaning she currently holds no faculty position. Here’s her report in the Journal of Human Trafficking with more. You can see a concise summary of her findings that she posted on Medium. And here’s the awesome database from which I grabbed a screenshot.
If nothing else, Handrahan has proved her point that the topic deserves more study than it’s currently getting, which is very little. That’s a necessary precursor to taking effective action against child sex trafficking on campus.
Also of interest, a 2000 report from the National Center for Safe Supportive Learning Environments looks not just at sexual trafficking in higher education but involving younger students too.
Elsewhere
Remember the survey results that I shared last week saying most teens and parents don’t know anything about Title IX? A separate survey by the Pew Research Center also found that half of U.S. adults hadn’t heard of Title IX. Among those that had, 63% said it’s had a positive impact on gender equality in athletics and 61% agreed that funding should be split equally between men’s and women’s college sports — something that’s definitely not happening yet. Elsewhere, women athletes suing San Diego State University for depriving them of financial aid added complaints of unequal treatment and retaliation to their lawsuit.
An investigation by California journalists showed that girls’ sports get less publicity than boys’, in violation of Title IX. Investigative journalists at the Daily Pennyslvanian uncovered reports that University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia officials covered up an investigation of workplace abuse in the Gene Therapy Program of its medical school in order to protect financial interests and the alleged abuser.
More students walked out of classes this week to protest their institutions’ handling of sexual assault complaints — at Grandview High School, Colo., the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, the University of Vermont, and at other schools mentioned in those stories. Students at Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J. planned to protest during the university’s undergraduate open house to publicize complaints of mismanaging sexual assault cases.
New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine created an uproar over its decision to consider hiring a biologist who was forced out or fired from three previous institutions for sexual harassment or violating workplace and sexual relationship policies. Multiple current and former students at Boston University accused an assistant professor of sexual misconduct. A complaint of sexual harassment by a vice president at Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tenn. led to his resignation, for which he received five months’ severance pay.
The federal Office for Civil Rights will investigate Hillsborough County (Fla.) Public Schools’ handling of sexual harassment complaints. Parents of girls who were being sexually extorted and blackmailed by a male student at Burns (Wyo.) High School criticized administrators for a slow response. In a case involving an intellectually disabled student in Washington State, a federal court ruled that school districts can be liable for student-on-student sexual harassment even if the student does not explicitly object.
The former general counsel and Title IX coordinator for Western Kentucky University sued for age and sex discrimination and alleged efforts to damage her career and reputation. A professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio who was warned against intentionally using the wrong pronouns when addressing a transgender student sued the university, claiming infringement of free speech and religious liberty rights, and won a $400,000 settlement. The gender gap in pay for full-time college faculty has stalled at 82 cents for women for every $1 paid to men.
On the up side
The New York Times previewed an exhibit on Title IX opening May 13 at the New York Historical Society. Another article in The New York Times explored the history of sex-segregated athletics and asked whether it may be time to combine athletes in some sports. Two universities — the University of California, Davis and the University of Wisconsin system — shared what they’ve learned as the first trying to stop “passing the harasser,” when an employee credibly accused of sexual misconduct leaves for another institution that’s unaware of the conduct. The organization LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education agreed to boycott states that have passed laws discriminating against LGBTQ individuals.
Where you’ll find me
May 4, 7:00 p.m. ET — Brooklyn, baby! Meet me at the Center for Fiction for a discussion with author Lucy Jane Bledsoe (No Stopping Us Now) and Anucha Browne, former basketball player, New York Knicks executive, and Title IX activist. The event is hybrid: in person and virtual. Register here: https://bit.ly/3KnLGLX.
May 12 — I’ll be in New York City for a preview reception of the new exhibit by the New York Historical Society, “Title IX: Activism On and Off the Field.” The exhibit opens on Friday, May 13 and will run until September 4. New Yorkers and visitors: Check it out!
May 26, 6:30 p.m. PT — A virtual get-together with the Riverside, Calif. chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
June 9, 7 p.m. PT — Join me and Lucy Jane Bledsoe, author of the new Young Adult novel No Stopping Us Now, at a virtual event hosted by Green Apple Books on the Park, San Francisco.
June 22 — Lucy Jane Bledsoe and I will Zoom with residents of Rossmoor, Walnut Creek, Calif.
June 23, 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET — It’s Title IX’s 50th birthday! I’ll be Zooming with members of the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) to celebrate. Read details here. And watch a 30-second promo video with moi here.
The Nation magazine published an excerpt from my chapter 5, which introduces Title IX’s application by the movement against sexual violence.
The Washington Monthly gave 37 Words a fine review — check it out!
The New York Historical Society’s Center for Women’s History & Academic Affairs posted a discussion with me and some of the earliest Title IX activists, available on YouTube.
If you registered for the American Historical Association 2022 conference, you can watch a video that will be available through June of our panel session on “Fifty Years of Title IX: Evolutions in the Struggle Against Sex Discrimination in Education.”
The Washington, D.C. chapter of the National Organization for Women interviewed me on the DC NOW podcast.
