Legal and Political Responses to Campus Sexual Assault

Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 15, October 2019, Forthcoming

36 Pages Posted: 14 Jun 2019

See all articles by Michele Landis Dauber

Michele Landis Dauber

Stanford Law School

Meghan Warner

Stanford University, Department of Sociology

Date Written: May 29, 2019

Abstract

Despite a long history of reform efforts, college students remain vulnerable to sexual harassment and assault on campus. This essay surveys that history from the 1970s to the present, including a flurry of enforcement activity under President Obama and a backlash and reversed course under Trump. Many of the systems - for example law, education, and public health - designed to ameliorate the epidemic of campus sexual assault have failed to do so. These failures have been particularly pronounced for victims who experience multiple intersecting inequalities. The resulting frustration with legal remedies through campus Title IX processes and the criminal and civil justice system has spurred a new interest in strategies to prevent sexual assault. Recent political developments, including the #MeToo movement, suggest a potential for democratic political accountability to make progress where legal reform efforts and campus prevention programming have thus far been unsuccessful.

Keywords: campus rape, sexual assault, #MeToo, Title IX, sexual harassment

Suggested Citation

Landis Dauber, Michele and Warner, Meghan, Legal and Political Responses to Campus Sexual Assault (May 29, 2019). Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Vol. 15, October 2019, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3396165

Michele Landis Dauber (Contact Author)

Stanford Law School ( email )

559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
United States

Meghan Warner

Stanford University, Department of Sociology ( email )

Stanford
United States

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