Epilogue

It’s no secret that sexual violence runs rampant on college campuses. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center asserts that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. 

At DePaul, reports of sexual violence have been on the rise for years. In 2019, DePaul’s Title IX Coordinator — now named the Director of Gender Equity — received 88 reports of sexual violence, according to the university’s most recent Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act report. The year prior, they received 71 reports and before that, they received 60 reports. 

DePaul University Preventing Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act Annual Report by DePaulia on Scribd

But the number of reports received by DePaul is likely not equal to the number of sexual violence incidents that actually take place among its students. Research suggests that number is significantly higher. Only one-fifth of all sexual assaults are reported among college-aged individuals, according to Department of Justice data. 

“It’s not unique to the Title IX experience that survivors often aren’t believed or they don’t feel comfortable coming forward,” Zuba said. 

Because the Covid-19 pandemic shut down campuses across the country, evidence suggests that reports may be made even less frequently — but that doesn’t mean incidents are happening less frequently. 

“A lot of people are stuck with the idea of, ‘Well, if everyone’s quarantining, how can this happen?’” said Laura Palumbo, a spokesperson for the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. “That’s a misunderstanding of the fact that, you know, some students who may be on campus may now be more isolated because of the fact that there are less students, or maybe someone who is no longer able to live on campus has to have to find an alternative living situation that puts them at some risk — maybe someone was experiencing abuse by a family member or a partner.”

“You can imagine that Title IX complaints will get less attention from schools because schools have so much to deal with right now,” Zuba said, echoing Palumbo. “And I also think that maybe we haven’t figured out the best way to support students during this time when school is remote.”

Research shows that rates of sexual violence increase during emergencies, and some resource centers see up-ticks in calls for help. But when it comes to filing reports, some disaster victims see reporting as a “luxury issue – something that is further down on the hierarchy of needs,” according to sexual violence expert Beth Vann. 

Publications NSVRC Guides Sexual Violence in Disasters a Planning Guide for Prevention and Response 0 by DePaulia on Scribd

While many incidents of sexual violence have likely taken place off campus amid the pandemic, that doesn’t necessarily mean the university isn’t responsible for supporting affected students. 

“If we look at the broader framework of Title IX — it’s talking about the responsibility of campuses to not only effectively respond to students, but to promote the safety and wellbeing of students, faculty and all who are within their campus environment — then it is a responsibility that carries over into this new virtual context,” Palumbo said.

DePaul’s Title IX office is not the only office that processes and manages reports of sexual violence on campus. In a previous interview with The DePaulia, Landis said that reports may be redirected to other offices if they are “more fitted.” 

“[The employee who connects with the student first] could potentially be someone else, depending on the nature of the report,” Landis said in 2019. “So it could be Health Promotion and Wellness following up, it could be the Dean of Students Office following up, it could be [the Title IX Coordinator].”

Still, a common thread between these four survivors’ stories is a lack of open communication between the office and the campus community, unclear disciplinary guidelines for acts of sexual and emotional abuse and an overall lack of trust that the office will ensure justice is served.

DePaul’s Title IX office is presently made up of the Director of Gender Equity (Title IX coordinator), two investigators and a case manager — a new position as of 2020. Those individuals are supported by five deputy Title IX coordinators who offer support to the primary coordinator. 

“All of these professionals have been impactful and unwavering in their commitment to the DePaul community,” Statz told The DePaulia. 

The office has seen significant turnover in the last several years. Statz, the current Title IX coordinator, is the third individual to hold that role in the last two years. Both investigators are also new to the department as of April 2020 and April 2021, respectively, according to Statz. The case manager, Hannah Retzkin, was previously a sexual and relationship violence prevention specialist in the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness, according to her bio. She joined the Title IX office in March 2020, Statz said. 

Statz said that under her leadership, the office has worked to support students outside of sexual misconduct, as well, by assisting students who are pregnant or parenting and through partnerships with the LGBTQIA Resource Center to support students who have shared instances of potential misconduct involving gender identity and sexual orientation, also included under Title IX. 

The office also received approval from all areas of the university’s shared governance to formalize the new Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures. 

“This was a testament to many at DePaul who worked tirelessly to memorialize very detailed expectations from the federal Department of Education into a document that is also DePaul-driven,” Statz said. “…We are proud of the hard work that has gone into serving our community over the past year.”

But on the fraught topic of sexual violence on campus, experts say there’s still work to be done — both at DePaul and elsewhere. 

“Our society seems to struggle with sexual violence in a way — and accepting it and addressing it in a way — that it doesn’t struggle with all forms of violence,” Zuba said. “Part of it could be an unwillingness to just accept that anyone is vulnerable to this [or] an unwillingness to believe women.”

A comprehensive list of resources for sexual violence survivors of all backgrounds, compiled by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), can be found here. The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673.