S25: Season XXV Preview

2 min

•Jan 6, 20263 months ago

Summary

This Season 25 preview of Something Was Wrong examines systemic failures in Title IX enforcement at universities, featuring accounts of sexual assault survivors whose institutions failed to protect them. The episode explores how institutional betrayal, inadequate accountability mechanisms, and power dynamics in competitive environments like athletics and arts departments enable sexual misconduct and perpetuate trauma.

Insights

Title IX enforcement produces fewer accountability actions than the criminal justice system despite being a civil rights mandate, indicating structural gaps in institutional oversight
Secondary trauma from institutional and legal systems compounds the harm experienced by survivors, creating additional barriers to justice and healing
Power hierarchies in competitive environments (athletics, fraternities, arts departments) create conditions that enable grooming, manipulation, and sexual misconduct
Cross-institutional failures occur when universities fail to share information about accused individuals, allowing perpetrators to harm students at multiple schools
Survivors face retaliation and public exposure through institutional processes, including having their cases used as classroom material without consent

Trends

Institutional accountability gaps in Title IX enforcement remain widespread nearly 50 years after the law's passageSecondary victimization through institutional and legal systems is a documented pattern affecting survivor outcomesGrooming and manipulation tactics are systematically used in hierarchical competitive environments on college campusesLack of inter-institutional communication enables serial perpetrators to evade accountability across multiple universitiesSurvivor retraumatization occurs through classroom use of cases and public exposure during institutional investigationsFraternity and athletic programs show statistically higher rates of sexual violence perpetration than other campus environmentsTheater and music departments face underrecognized sexual misconduct issues despite competitive hierarchies similar to athletics

Topics

Title IX enforcement and institutional accountabilitySexual assault on college campusesInstitutional betrayal and survivor traumaPower dynamics in athletics and competitive programsGrooming and manipulation tacticsInter-institutional communication failuresSecondary victimization in legal systemsFraternity culture and sexual violenceArts department misconduct (theater, music)Survivor retaliation and public exposureUniversity Title IX office failuresCriminal justice system vs. institutional justiceConsent and coercion in power imbalancesVictim advocacy and institutional reformPolice investigation of campus sexual assault

Companies

University of Utah

Named in lawsuit for failing to act on rape report in 2019 and not coordinating with Utah Valley University regarding...

Utah Valley University

Second university named in lawsuit for failing to protect student who reported rape by accused assailant also enrolle...

Quotes

"Had they done their job the first time, my daughter would not have been assaulted."

Survivor's parent

"The Title IX system produces more institutional betrayal and fewer accountability actions than our criminal justice system."

"This wasn't just an instance of him crossing boundaries with multiple young women. This was him manipulating all of us."

Survivor

"I was at his absolute back-and-call. I would have done anything he wanted me to do."

Survivor

"One of the most unexpected parts of this experience was the amount of secondary trauma that I endured from the justice system and from the systems that were put in place to protect me."

Survivor

Full Transcript

It's been nearly 50 years since the passage of Title IX, the landmark civil rights law prohibiting sex-based discrimination at federally funded schools, including in athletic programs. But violations still exist. The Title IX system produces more institutional betrayal and fewer accountability actions than our criminal justice system. Had they done their job the first time, my daughter would not have been assaulted. I didn't ever consider the size difference between him and I until I was under the weight of him and I was like, wow, I could die. Her friends were telling her like, hey, I had a class today and guess what? They used your actual case as our homework. Places like theater departments, music departments. There's that competitive component. There is a hierarchy of men are at the top of that hierarchy. This wasn't just an instance of him crossing boundaries with multiple young women. This was him manipulating all of us. I do think what he was doing was grooming. I was at his absolute back-and-call. I would have done anything he wanted me to do. He looks at me and says, everyone's probably wondering why you're here with me and who you are and why you're so special. Over time, our sexual contact became less and less consensual. A fraternity or a football team, are really good examples of places where we know that the violence perpetration rate is higher than other places on campus. The Utah Valley students lawsuit claims her own school didn't help her when she reported she was raped in 2019 because her alleged assailant was a student at the University of Utah, the second university that she says failed to act. That is until Unified Police started investigating. One of the most unexpected parts of this experience was the amount of secondary trauma that I endured from the justice system and from the systems that were put in place to protect me.