Rule change for reporting sexual misconduct could hurt grad students and others

The amendments to Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sexual discrimination at educational institutions that receive federal funding, were disappointing to Allison. She wanted to see protections for sexual minorities in the 700 page document. A psychology student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, is dismayed by one set of changes that have been made. They would require most university employees to be "mandatory reporters" and notify their institution's Title IX office of any alleged sexual misconduct involving students even if the student doesn't want them to.

Researchers who study such policies have spoken out against them, saying they re-traumatize targets of sexual harassment and reduce their ability to seek support. Most universities in the U.S. require most or all employees to serve as mandatory reporters. The rule changes would make the requirement universal, making it hard to try other approaches.

"I was expecting all the changes to be good, so I'm caught off guard by what I perceive to be a potential disaster if it doesn't get fixed" She thinks the new reporting rules will hurt graduate students more than undergrads because they are more vulnerable to being retaliated against. She says that if a graduate student can speak privately with a supportive faculty member about how to navigate the bind they are in, it can save their career.

Universities have been required to designate some employees as mandatory reporters but have not defined who those employees should be. Any university employee who has the authority to institute corrective measures would be required to serve as a mandatory reporter under the new regulations. Lilia Cortina is a professor at the University of Michigan who studies gender and co-authored the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's report on sexual harassment in the workplace.

The report talked about how problematic the policies were. Research shows that taking control away from victims increases psychological distress. It's basically nonconsensual reporting of their traumatic or humiliating experience.

The Department of Education stated that the updates were developed to ensure full protection under Title IX for students, employees, and others and to end all forms of sex discrimination. The proposed regulations state that students may be less capable of self-advocacy and may share Title IX violations with those who fall under the proposed mandatory reporter definition.

When she interviewed graduate students about their experiences with mandatory reporting, she found that targets of sexual harassment may go to trusted faculty members. One student opened up to her adviser because she wanted to let him know she was seeking mental health services. The student said that he felt like he deserved to know why he wasn't at his desk.

Most of the students didn't know their institution had a mandatory reporting policy. One person said that they thought talking to their adviser was safe. After learning a report would be filed she freaked out, according to another person. When you're in the midst of trauma, you won't think about university policy. Students won't see their professors as a part of the Title IX office.

At a listening session the Department of Education held last year to help guide the development of the new regulations, she shared research she and others have done on mandatory reporting, which made it all the more frustrating when she read the resulting amendments She says it feels like a slap in the face.

A lawyer who is president of the Association of Title IX Administrators sees the issue in a different way. Most research misses the fact that mandated reporting does not result in forced prosecutions but instead results in sharing of resources and discussion of options. Agency is not being taken away from survivors. It's easy to teach and work with a wide mandated reporting requirement.

The proposed regulations won't change reporting procedures at most universities, but they will block attempts to test other approaches The University of Oregon has a "mandatory supporter" policy that requires most employees to tell students how to report sexual misconduct and then let the student decide how to proceed. Deans and department heads are mandatory reporters.

The University of Oregon's policy needs some room for experimentation. There isn't enough information for the federal government to dictate to institutions how to handle Title IX issues.

The approach is at odds with Title IX's goal of protecting students, according to Risa Lieberwitz, a professor of labor and employment law at Cornell University. She says that the evidence supports a more nuanced way of thinking about who should be a mandatory reporter.