If Equal Rights was a Possibility at Tufts University

This year the theme for IWD is “Equal rights, equal opportunity: Progress for all.” The Blog for International Women’s Day campaign asked participants to answer what equality rights for all means to them. My mind immediately jumped to Title IX‘s promise to enforce equal access to education. While many think about equality in just athletics when it comes to Title IX, it also requires schools to respond to reports of sexual violence and to repair the hostile environment created by being victimized by sexual harassment or assault.

What does equal rights look to me? It would make the reports released by the Center for Public Integrity unnecessary. Rape myths wouldn’t lead to schools not caring about students who were raped and assaulted as much as protecting their reputation. Admitted rapists wouldn’t be allowed to continue to be a part of the community to very likely victimize other people. Students wouldn’t avoid reporting their rape because their rapist came from an affluent family and opt to transfer schools instead. Classes about domestic and sexual violence wouldn’t be the first courses cut from the roster because of lack of funding.

Being a victim of sexual violence can be extremely hard. The aftermath causes so many scenarios – all of which would lead to some sort of disruption in one’s academic performance. If there were truly equal rights, I believe that there would not even be a need for SAFER; administrators would not be so resistant to create resources for students in case that they were assaulted or know someone who was.

Equal rights would mean students wouldn’t have to avoid certain teachers, certain classes, change majors because they were a victim of sexual violence or are afraid it could happen. A transwoman wouldn’t feel left out of the school’s policies in helping them heal after an assault.

How is equal rights relevant to a good sexual assault policy? Because if a school did its job properly and did its best to not only PREVENT sexual violence, but also support victims and do its best to punish and get rid of perpetrators, the female students would be able to have a fighting chance to have a successful, strong educational career.

Oppression can be manifested in many ways. A poor sexual assault policy is one of them. Equal rights would eliminate oppression and promote equality for all genders by acknowledging gendered violence and fighting with all we had to stop it from happening.