Word

An attorney who apparently works a fair amount with survivors has this to say about hotlines:


Victims/survivors should never ever call the wrongdoers hotline.  It is only an information gathering tool for USC -- worst thing you can do.


In this context, what he's arguing--perhaps before the evidence is entirely clear, but he probably has insight that I don't--is that when one makes a Title IX report, one can only expect that the institution under which it is made will work to protect itself, not the reporter.


Now I don't know how widespread it is--it certainly appears to have happened at USC and MSU--but if attorneys like Mr. DiMaria and John Manly are persuaded that this is a very real problem with Title IX, I'd hope that a smart legislator in the District of Columbia can be persuaded to schedule some hearings and work to fix the system. 


And having watched as MSU clearly gamed this system, all I can say is that if you're a student who is sexually assaulted, you just might do well to skip Title IX altogether and go to the police.  If you need a buddy, I'll go with you if I can.