After we spent several class days discussing the UVA rape case as well as sexual assault on college campuses in general, I was drawn to this article when it popped up on my Buzzfeed app. The story explains how Harvard graduate Alyssa Leader is suing the University over their mishandling of her sexual assault case. According to Leader, she dated her assailant, known only as 'John Doe' in the complaint, for about a year. During that year, Doe would demand sex from Leader and when she would refuse he would either coerce her into having sex with him or would grow incredibly violent.
Leader reported the abuse several times to the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response while the pair was still dating and then several times after they broke up and Doe began to harass her. After the pair broke up, Leader began to fear for her safety as they both lived in the same dorm and Doe and his friends began to constantly harass her. She filed many official reports with the school in order to get Doe removed from the dorm, but Harvard refused to act on any of her claims. It became so difficult for Leader that she eventually stopped sleeping in her dorm room out of fear for her own safety. It wasn't until Leader went around the school and got a restraining order against Doe that Harvard finally moved him out of the dorm.
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Alyssa Leader speaks at a news conference after filing a Title IX civil lawsuit against Harvard University.
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Unfortunately, this is not the only case against Harvard. There are currently 12 other individuals who claim Harvard similarly mishandled their sexual assault cases and Harvard is now undergoing a federal investigation because of it. I think this case is important to highlight because just like the cases we discussed in class, it shows how prevalent sexual assault is on college campuses and how important it is that universities and colleges begin taking it seriously. Survivors should not have to take their schools to court in order to get justice. Universities and colleges should not put their reputations above the safety of their students. Yet it seems regularly we hear of another school trying to cover up or push aside a sexual assault case. I think Leader has a strong case and by keeping her abuser's name out of the court proceedings, she ensures that her story and her voice is the one that is heard and focused on. And while it may be a vain hope, I do hope that soon universities and colleges will begin handling sexual assault cases correctly and effectively.
The fact that Harvard has 12 other individuals saying that the school mishandled their sexual assault cases brings me back to the question that we discussed a few weeks ago about whether it should be the schools place to handle sexual assaults. I know it gets complicated when it happens on campus, but I feel like having outside authorities and the criminal justice system handle it is really something that could be beneficial and help more victims that are assaulted on campuses get the justice they deserve. Especially in this case, Harvard is clearly not doing something right- whether they're protecting themselves or they just don't want to deal with it, it's not fair that this girl and all the other victims have to go through dealing with the school on top of their assault.
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