University of Northern Colorado students can report sexual assaults to Title IX investigators on campus, university police or both.
Under Title IX, colleges and universities investigate allegations of sexual assault on campus as civil rights violations. When Title IX handles reports of sexual assault, university investigators are responsible for collecting evidence. The university then decides if there is enough reason to believe something happened. If there is, university officials deem the accused “responsible,” a word preferred by UNC officials instead of guilty, and deans decide what the consequences should be.
Victims often choose not to report to law enforcement because they don’t want to be traumatized again by the legal system, which can include rehashing deeply disturbing details, as well as a legal battle that may or may not result in consequences for the accused.
Title IX gives victims an opportunity to seek some justice when they might not see it in the legal system, even though punishments are more likely to include mandatory classes, restraining orders and suspensions, compared to jail time and registering as a sex offender when found guilty in a court of law.
And yet, five women who spoke to The Tribune were unhappy with the way the university handled accusations of rape.
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