Officials at the University of Colorado know about a pattern of alleged date-rape drug use at a fraternity in Boulder, but say the law prevents them from naming the fraternity to police.
An investigation of sexual assault on college campuses found CU and others colleges across Colorado are withholding information about sexual assaults against students.
But the issue is more nuanced than first glance might suggest: Advocates say the secrecy is necessary to protect rape victims who wouldn’t come forward otherwise. Law enforcement officials say the secrecy may be allowing more people to fall victim.
From NPR.org:
“A college campus isn’t the first place that comes to mind in a discussion about violent crime.
But research funded by the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that 1 out of 5 college women will be sexually assaulted. NPR’s investigative unit teamed up with journalists at the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) to look at the failure of schools — and the government agency that oversees them — to prevent these assaults and then to resolve these cases.”
Download an .mp3 of the NPR report
[Running time: 7:47 mins.]
The reporting team for the campus sexual assault investigation includes the journalists below, and was made possible with a grant from the McCormick Foundation.
Officials at the University of Colorado know about a pattern of alleged date-rape drug use at a fraternity in Boulder, but say the law prevents them from naming the fraternity to police.
An investigation of sexual assault on college campuses found CU and others colleges across Colorado are withholding information about sexual assaults against students.
Officials at the University of Colorado know about a pattern of alleged date-rape drug use at a fraternity in Boulder, but say the law prevents them from naming the fraternity to police.
An investigation of sexual assault on college campuses found CU and others colleges across Colorado are withholding information about sexual assaults against students.
But the issue is more nuanced than first glance might suggest: Advocates say the secrecy is necessary to protect rape victims who wouldn’t come forward otherwise. Law enforcement officials say the secrecy may be allowing more people to fall victim.
If your image of a rapist is a hooded stranger in a dark alley, think again. The face of most rapists is one their victims recognize.
In almost all sexual assaults – 90 percent, according to the U.S. Justice Department – the attacker is someone the victim knows.
Read the stories:
Privacy Laws Prevent Sex Assault Investigations
Rape Prevention Fails when it’s Focused on the Wrong Rapist
Video: Privacy vs Prosecution
And that means the rape prevention programs of the past 30 years – rape whistles, walking in pairs, staying out …
I-News is part of the national Investigative News Network, a coalition of some two dozen nonprofit news organizations dedicated to in-depth, investigative journalism in the public interest.
Read more on this topic from other network members: the Center for Public Integrity , the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, Texas Watchdog, and Investigate West.
Rocky Mountain PBS features the I-News Network report about campus sexual assault on "Colorado State of Mind".
The Center for Public Integrity Texas Watchdog Blog New England Center for Investigative ReportingI-News is a partner with the University of Colorado Digital Test Kitchen, where journalists, technologists, business and other experts are joining to stir the digital soup and serve up the future of news.
