Title IX: Legislation
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. Title IX applies, with a few specific exceptions, to all aspects of federally funded education programs or activities. In addition to traditional educational institutions such as colleges, universities, and elementary and secondary schools, Title IX also applies to any education or training program operated by a recipient of federal financial assistance, including the IAS. Title IX and its implementing federal regulations prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in its programs and activities. Title IX is the primary focus of this training, however, it is part of a suite of laws that offer protections from sexual violence and discrimination at educational institutions.
Clery Act: Passed after the rape and murder of a college freshman in 1986, the Clery Act requires colleges to provide timely warnings about crimes that pose a threat to their communities, keep crime statistics, and provide an annual security report.
VAWA: The Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) provided $1.6 billion to enhance investigation and prosecution of violent crimes perpetrated against women (and men), imposed automatic and mandatory restitution on those convicted and allowed civil redress in cases prosecutors chose to leave unprosecuted. The Act was reauthorized in 2013, expanding protection to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender victims, as well as Native Americans and immigrants.
Goals of VAWA and the Clery Act
The Clery Act and the subsequently passed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) have the common goals of:
• Preventing domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence and stalking on campus.
• Educating the campus community that violence against women is unlawful.
• Coordinating services to victims and survivors in response to incidents.
• Giving students, faculty and staff information on campus security policies and statistics.
On March 7, 2013 the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act was enacted. VAWA now includes the key provisions of a bill you may have heard of called the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (Campus SaVE Act). The "SaVE Act" provisions amend the Jeanne Clery Act and the Campus Sexual Assault Victims’ Bill of Rights, both of which are part of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and have implications for higher education institutions.