Stanford University sparked campus outrage after dropping the term “survivor” from sexual assault cases.
The university decided to move away from the term to stay neutral since the word indicates bias toward the accuser.
The school’s Title IX office will also drop “Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Education (SHARE)” from its name and change it to “Title IX & Title VI Office.”
Pelagia Martin –– a former SHARE student who said she was a victim of sexual assault –– said the office changed the term “survivor” to “impacted student,” according to The Stanford Daily. As a result of the change, she also resigned from her SHARE position.
She also told the Daily that the office would no longer partake in multiple sexual assault related events such as “Take Back the Night.”
One emerita law professor named Michele Dauber also expressed disappointment with the change, stating that the changed term invalidates the reality that victims and other students faced in the past.
Stanford’s vice provost for Institutional Equity, Access and Community Patrick Dunkley told the school newspaper that “survivor” will be used in “educational programming” but that the term “impacted student” will be used to show neutrality from ongoing cases in the future.
“The Title IX & VI Office continues to refine its focus on supporting and educating our community on a range of harassment and discrimination experiences, and responding fairly and with care to reported violations,” Dunkley responded after hearing criticisms.
Despite the school’s reasoning behind the change, Martin believes that it is a “direct attack” on her credibility and “therefore a blatant dismissal of a survivor’s voice by Patrick Dunkley and the Title IX Office.”
Earlier this year, an armed man attacked and sexually assaulted a female jogger near Stanford University campus, leaving the community deeply shaken and on edge.
The incident occurred in March when the suspect allegedly grabbed her and forced her into a secluded area next to a house.
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