Law Commons^™

Title Ix’S Unrealized Potential To Prevent Sexual Violence, Katharine B. Silbaugh

Faculty Scholarship

The mandate of Title IX is equality in educational opportunities. If educational institutions could prevent sexual assaults from occurring, they would more fully ensure that students are not limited in their ability to benefit from the school’s educational programs. However, Title IX administration on college campuses still focuses far more on post-assault infrastructure than on assault prevention.

Yet with the ever-increasing particularity of the assault response requirements emanating from the Department of Education (“DOE”)2 and courts, Title IX jurisprudence has strayed too far from this basic purpose: to ensure that students in federally funding schools are not denied or limited …

_Not That Bad_: Lessons Women Learn In A Rape Culture, Sydney J. Selman

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

In 2018, Roxane Gay assembled an anthology that addresses the severity of rape, rejecting the common belief that some sexually violent acts, compared to others, are not that bad. This collection, titled Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, compiles pieces from thirty different authors and sheds light on how the notion of not that bad contributes to a broader structural social problem involving sexual violence. This social problem, known as rape culture, is commonly defined as a culture that normalizes sexual violence and blames victims of sexual assault (“What is Rape Culture?”). In other words, rape culture …

Disposable Immigrants: The Reality Of Sexual Assault In Immigration Detention Centers, Valerie Gisel Zarate

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

The Legal Regulation Of Sadomasochism And The So-Called “Rough Sex Defence”, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The focus of this article is on the judicial application of Canada’s sexual assault doctrine in the context of the so called ‘rough sex defence’. Canadian criminal courts have seen an increased prevalence of legal narratives about S/M in recent years. In particular, courts are increasingly confronted with individuals who defend themselves against allegations of sexual assault by claiming that the impugned acts constituted consensual S/M or ‘rough sex’. The analysis is aimed at illustrating the way in which courts may fail to properly apply legal doctrine because of a problematic approach to the S/M context in which allegations arose. …

What We Are Owed: The Possibilities Of A Civil Law Response To Sexual Injuries, Nathalie Marx

Scripps Senior Theses

Drawing from philosophical, feminist, and legal frameworks, this thesis aims to reconceptualize our understanding of sexual violations. I suggest that rape and other sexual violations produce injuries unique from other forms of physical violence that must be addressed as an extension of a culture which objectifies, restricts the agency of, and shames women. It is argued that through the ability for survivors to bring a civil claim of negligence against their perpetrators following a sexual injury, pathways for restorative healing and cultural transformation are opened, and a more responsive legal standard for fault is created. This paper responds to theories …

The Slippery Discourse Of Sexual Consent: Feminist Acumen And Feminist Excess, Dan Subotnik

Touro Law Review

The Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, the Harvey Weinstein case, and the Jeffrey Epstein case have done us a valuable service. By focusing mass media attention and academic discourse on consent to sex and on assault, they have brought to a boil two issues that have been simmering for some time in feminist circles. The present essay invites readers to consider feminist writings over the last half-century that have influenced this discourse and continue to incite febrile talk today.

First to be examined is the American “heartbalm” regime, an early effort to protect women from the emotional harm resulting from seduction by …

The Slippery Discourse Of Sexual Consent: Feminist Acumen And Feminist Excess, Dan Subotnik

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

A Pause In The Expansion Of Vicarious Liability, Kee Yang Low, Siang Ping Lai

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The doctrine of vicarious liability has undergone dramatic development in recent times and has been extended to scenarios quite different from that of employer-employee. The question is: will vicarious liability be applied to a situation where the tortfeasor is an independent contractor? The UKSC supplied the answer in Barclays Bank v Various Claimants. This article considers the implications of this landmark decision.

Gundy V. United States: Breathing New (And Unexpected) Life Into The Nondelegation Doctrine, Brandon K. Wharton

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of How The Canadian Military’S Legal System Responds To Sexual Assault, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Although the Canadian military has been conducting sexual assault trials for over twenty years, there has been no academic study of them and no external review of them. This review of the military’s sexual assault cases (the first of its kind) yields several important findings. First, the conviction rate for the offence of sexual assault by courts martial is dramatically lower than the rate in Canada’s civilian criminal courts. The difference between acquittal rates in sexual assault cases in these two systems appears to be even larger. Since Operation Honour was launched in 2015 only one soldier has been convicted …

Law Versus Action: How Five Cape Town Organizations Are Combating High Rates Of Sexual Assault And The Failure Of Progressive Sexual Offences Legislation, Anna Tinker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This Independent Study Project (ISP) seeks to understand the work various Cape Town organizations are doing to help survivors of sexual assault gain access to justice. Previous research finds that social norms defining masculinity as well as rape myths and stereotypes lead to the high levels of gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa. This research led to my hypothesis that organizations fighting GBV would target these norms to help survivors access the justice system that so frequently ignores them. Eight organizations were contacted requesting an interview to discuss their work and two agreed to participate. Participants were asked to discuss …

Does The Decriminalization Of Prostitution Reduce Rape And Sexually Transmitted Disease? A Review Of Cunningham And Shah Findings, Lily Lachapelle, Clare Schneider, Melanie Shapiro, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

In 2013, research findings by Cunningham and Shah claimed that rape and sexually transmitted diseases were reduced by decriminalized prostitution in Rhode Island. The original unpublished claims have received wide media coverage which have gone unexamined. This review finds errors in their analyses. One error is the date when prostitution was decriminalized in Rhode Island. Cunningham and Shah claim that prostitution was decriminalized in 2003. Our analysis finds the date of decriminalization of prostitution was 1980. The change in the start date of decriminalization significantly alters the analysis and the findings. Another error results from Cunningham and Shah using an …

Considering Consent: A Philosophy Of One Word's Impact, Kiley Addis

Philosophy Summer Fellows

When considering the topic of consent in reference to sexual relations, one might view the definition as straightforward. In this project, I demonstrate that no clear, singular definition of consent exists, but rather, focus on compiling differing definitions typically used. The main definitions focused on within the research are that of how the United States legal system defines consent, how higher education institutions define consent within their policies, and how our country defines consent culturally. Using the vast differences in the definitions as the prime example, I demonstrate that no clear, singular definition of consent exists; without a concise definition …

Sex Wars As Proxy Wars, Aya Gruber

Publications

The clash between feminists and queer theorists over the meaning of sex—danger versus pleasure—is well- trodden academic territory. Less discussed is what the theories have in common. There is an important presumption uniting many feminist and queer accounts of sexuality: sex, relative to all other human activities, is something of great, or grave, importance. The theories reflect Gayle Rubin’s postulation that "everything pertaining to sex has been a ‘special case’ in our culture.” In the #MeToo era, we can see all too clearly how sex has an outsized influence in public debate. Raging against sexual harm has become the preferred …

Breaking The Silence: Holding Texas Lawyers Accountable For Sexual Harassment, Savannah Files

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Following the 2017 exposure of Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement spread rapidly across social media platforms calling for increased awareness of the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault and demanding change. The widespread use of the hashtag brought attention to the issue and successfully facilitated a much-needed discussion in today’s society. However, this is not the first incident prompting a demand for change.

Efforts to bring awareness and exact change in regards to sexual harassment in the legal profession date back to the 1990s. This demonstrates that the legal profession is not immune from these issues. In fact, at least …

Genderfucking Non-Disclosure: Sexual Fraud, Transgender Bodies, And Messy Identities, Florence Ashley

Dalhousie Law Journal

If I don't tell you that I was assigned male at birth, as a transgender person, can I go to jail for sexual assault by fraud? In some jurisdictionslike England or Israel, the answer is: yes. Previous arguments against this criminalisation have focused on the realness of trans people's genders: since trans men are men and trans women are women, it is not misleading for them to present as they do. Highlighting the limitationsofthis position, which doesn't fully account for the messiness ofgendered experiences, the author puts forward an argument against the criminalisation of (trans)gender history non-disclosure rooted in privacy. …

The #Metoo Movement: An Invitation For Feminist Critique Of Rape Crisis Framing, Jamie Abrams

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article invites feminists to leverage the #MeToo Movement as a critical analytical tool to explore the longevity of the enduring rape crisis framing of victim services. For nearly half a century, victims have visited rape crisis centers, called rape crisis hotlines, and mobilized rape crisis response teams to provide services and support. This enduring political and social framing around rape as a crisis is opaque, has prompted a political backlash, and risks distorting hard-fought feminist legal, social, and political battles. It has yielded underreporting, underutilization, and recurring risks of budgetary cuts. This model and terminology have gone virtually unchanged …

It Can't Wait: Exposing The Connections Between Forms Of Sexual Exploitation, Dawn Hawkins

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Dignity Special Issue: Freedom From Sexploitation, Lisa L. Thompson, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Inextricably Bound: Strip Clubs, Prostitution, And Sex Trafficking, Dan O'Bryant

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Why New Hampshire Must Update Rape Shield Laws, Amy Vorenberg

Law Faculty Scholarship

[Excerpt] “Recent research indicates that New Hampshire has some of the highest rates of sexual assault in the nation; nearly one in four New Hampshire women and one in 20 New Hampshire men will experience sexual assault. Although reporting a crime can be hard for anyone, sexual assault victims have particular reasons for not reporting. After an assault, a rape victim typically feels embarrassment, shame and fears reprisal (most of these crimes are committed by an acquaintance). The deeply personal nature of rape makes it uniquely traumatizing and confusing.”

Judging Sexual Assault Trials: Systemic Failure In The Case Of Regina V Bassam Al-Rawi, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The recent decision to acquit a Halifax taxi driver of sexual assault in a case involving a very intoxicated woman, who was found by police in the accused’s vehicle unconscious and naked from the breasts down, rightly sparked public criticism and consternation. A review of the trial record in Al-Rawi, including the examination and cross-examination of witnesses, the closing submissions of the Crown and defence counsel, and the trial judge’s oral decision suggests a failure of our legal system to respond appropriately to allegations of sexual assault - a failure for which, the author argues, both the trial judge and …

Back To Basics: Excavating The Sex Discrimination Roots Of Campus Sexual Assault, Deborah Brake

Articles

This article, written for a symposium devoted to the legacy of celebrated Lady Vols coach, Pat Summit, connects the dots between Title IX’s regulation of campus sexual assault and the law’s overarching goal of expanding women’s access to leadership. Beginning with a discussion of how sexual objectification and harassment obstruct women’s paths to leadership, the article situates campus sexual assault as an important part of Title IX’s overarching agenda to promote equal educational opportunity. Although liberal feminism and dominance feminism are often discussed as competing theoretical frames for understanding and challenging gender inequality, they are best seen as complementary and …

Fighting The Rape Culture Wars Through The Preponderance Of The Evidence Standard, Deborah Brake

Articles

In the heated controversy over the obligations Title IX places on colleges and universities to respond to sexual assault, no issue has been more contentious than the standard of proof used to make findings of responsibility in internal student misconduct processes. In 2011, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the U.S. Department of Education released a “Dear Colleague” letter (DCL) clarifying the obligations imposed on institutions of higher education to use fair and equitable grievances procedures in resolving allegations of sexual assault. Among numerous other requirements, the DCL alerted colleges and universities that it expected them to use the …

How To Think (Like A Lawyer) About Rape, Kimberly Kessler Ferzan, Peter K. Westen

All Faculty Scholarship

From the American Law Institute to college campuses, there is a renewed interest in the law of rape. Law school faculty, however, may be reluctant to teach this deeply debated topic. This article begins from the premise that controversial and contested questions can be best resolved when participants understand the conceptual architecture that surrounds and delineates the normative questions. This allows participants to talk to one another instead of past each other. Accordingly, in this article, we begin by diffusing two non-debates: the apparent conflict created when we use “consent” to mean two different things and the question of whether …

Mandatory Reporting Of Campus Sexual Assault And Domestic Violence: Moving To A Victim-Centric Protocol That Comports With Federal Law, Jill Engle

Jill Engle

This Article will examine "mandatory reporting" of campus domestic violence and sexual assault' by faculty members when a student discloses this kind of incident to them. This Article describes the legal and social landscape of mandatory reporting and the attendant challenges, along with the policies and practices that colleges should adopt for faculty reporting to comply with federal law while still remaining sensitive to victim needs.

Hidden Behind A 53 Foot Trailer: Are Women Truck Drivers At Risk For Sexual Assault?, Kim Bourne

Nursing Faculty Publications

Background. Sexual assault affects one in five women, worldwide, across their lifetime; approximately 22 million women in the United States (US). Only twenty-seven percent of the assaults are reported to the police. In the US, approximately 8% of the sexual assaults on women occur in the workplace; late hours of the night or early morning hours, working alone, working in isolated areas, working with the public, and working in a mobile workplace place women at an increased risk. There are approximately 200,000 women long-haul truck drivers in the US; 132,000 drives with a partner, and 99,000 drives with their intimate …

The Criminalization Of Title Ix, Erin R. Collins

Law Faculty Publications

This essay proceeds in three parts. Part I provides a brief overview of the history of feminist-influenced criminal rape law reform and the rise of carceral feminism. Part II demonstrates how key tenets of the criminal law approach have been imported into emerging Title IX policies. Part III engages in a brief distributional analysis to identify who benefits and who loses from this approach. Then, drawing on insights from critical feminist critiques of rape law reform, begins to identify ways to use the opportunity Title IX presents to craft a very different kind of response to sexual assault--one that focuses …

Section 276 Misconstrued: The Failure To Properly Interpret And Apply Canada's Rape Shield Provisions, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Despite the vintage of Canada’s rape shield provisions (which in their current manifestation have been in force since 1992), some trial judges continue to misinterpret and/or misapply the Criminal Code provisions limiting the use of evidence of a sexual assault complainant’s other sexual activity. These errors seem to flow from a combination of factors including a general misunderstanding on the part of some trial judges as to what section 276 requires and a failure on the part of some trial judges to properly identify, and fully remove, problematic assumptions about sex and gender from their analytical approach to the use …

The Ethical Identity Of Sexual Assault Lawyers, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Despite progressive law reforms, sexual assault complainants continue to experience the criminal justice response to the violations that they have suffered as unsatisfactory, if not traumatic. One emerging response to this dilemma involves greater consideration of the ethical boundaries imposed on lawyers that practice sexual assault law. What is the relationship between a criminal lawyer’s ethical duties and the reforms to the law of sexual assault in Canada? How do lawyers themselves understand the ethical limits imposed on their conduct of a sexual assault case? How do lawyers that practice in this area of law comprehend their role in the …