It's time for the law to protect victims of gender violence | Laura L. Dunn

TL;DR

The law should protect victims of gender violence by passing the Equal Rights Amendment, which Laura L. Dunn argues could require states to address gender violence as sex discrimination. The Fourteenth Amendment does not require state intervention when private parties harm citizens, while Title IX protects people in federally funded educational programs. Read on to understand the constitutional gap, victims’ limited role in criminal cases, and the proposed path to accountability.

Transcript

Throughout the United States, there is growing social awareness that sexual violence and harassment are far too common occurrences within our various institutions -- occurrences often without any accountability. As a result, the Me Too movement is upon us, and survivors everywhere are speaking out to demand change. Students have rallied against sex... Read More

Key Insights

• 🌟 The Me Too movement is a growing social awareness that sexual violence and harassment are common occurrences without accountability, leading survivors to demand change. This signifies a tipping point for lasting legal change.
• ✊ The US Constitution currently denies fundamental protections to victims of gender violence, such as sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking. The Fourteenth Amendment does not require state governments to intervene when private parties abuse its citizens.
• 🚨 Victims of gender violence face constitutional flaws that contradict international law, which mandates nation-states to protect citizens against gender violence by private parties. This discretion has been used to discriminate systemically and deny victims remedies.
• 💔 Victims of gender violence often struggle to attain justice as they are treated as witnesses, not parties, in the criminal process. The prosecution represents the state's interests, and victims have limited rights and voice in the process.
• 📚 Title IX, a federal Civil Rights statute originally focused on sex discrimination in admissions, has evolved to require educational institutions to intervene and address gender violence within their programs. This provides some protection for victims seeking access to education.
• 🙌 Campus-level proceedings under Title IX give victims equitable rights to represent their own interests, unlike the historical tendency of educational institutions to brush gender violence under the rug. However, overall protection for victims remains inadequate.
• 📜 The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1923, would guarantee gender equality under the law and require states to address gender violence as a form of sex discrimination. It came close to passing in the 1970s and has gained renewed support in recent times.
• 💪 The current political climate, marked by movements like the Women's March and Me Too, provides the necessary political will to bring about lasting legal change. Increased accountability and the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment can transform the legal system into one that prioritizes justice for survivors. ⏰ It is time to shift focus from institut ions to the Constitution and pass the Equal Rights Amendment. This will ensure that accountability becomes the norm after gender violence and the #MeToo movement can finally bring an end to it.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why does Laura L. Dunn say the law fails victims of gender violence?

Dunn says the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits state governments from abusing citizens but does not require them to intervene when private parties do so. Consequently, police may fail to respond to a threatened woman, and she may have no legal remedy if preventable harm results.

Q: What forms of gender violence does the talk address?

The talk identifies sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking as forms of gender violence lacking fundamental constitutional protection. It also discusses sexual violence and harassment in schools, the military, and workplaces.

Q: What rights do victims have during the criminal process?

Dunn says victims are witnesses rather than parties in criminal cases, and their bodies become evidence. Because prosecutors represent the state rather than individual victims, the state may dismiss charges, accept lax plea deals, or otherwise remove a victim’s voice from the process.

Q: How does Title IX protect victims of gender violence?

Title IX prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual violence and harassment, in educational programs receiving federal funding. It requires educational institutions to address certain misconduct by teachers, students, or campus visitors and exposes institutions to liability when they fail to take reports seriously.

Q: What rights does Title IX provide during campus proceedings?

Title IX gives victims equitable rights in campus-level proceedings. This allows victims to represent their own interests instead of relying entirely on educational institutions, which Dunn says have historically swept gender violence under the rug.

Q: Why are Title IX protections not enough?

Title IX protects people seeking access to federally funded educational programs, but it does not protect every victim in every institution. Dunn argues that reform should move beyond separate battles on campuses, in the military, and in workplaces to address the constitutional gap.

Q: How could the Equal Rights Amendment address gender violence?

Dunn argues that the Equal Rights Amendment would guarantee gender equality under the law. Much like Title IX on campus, she says it could require states to intervene and address gender violence as a prohibited form of sex discrimination.

Q: What is the history of the Equal Rights Amendment described in the talk?

The Equal Rights Amendment was originally proposed in 1923 and came within three states of passing in the 1970s. Dunn says that at least one of those states had ratified it within the year before the talk, reflecting renewed political will associated with the Women’s March and the Me Too movement.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Sexual violence and harassment are common in various institutions in the United States, and the Me Too movement has emerged as a response to demand change.

• The US Constitution currently denies fundamental protections to victims of gender violence, as it does not require state governments to intervene when private parties abuse citizens.

• Title IX, a federal Civil Rights statute, provides some protections against gender violence in educational institutions, but there is a need for the Equal Rights Amendment to guarantee gender equality under the law and address gender violence as a form of sex discrimination.