Arizona State University settles rape case for $850,000

Arizona State University has settled with a rape survivor for $850,000.
The young woman was raped in her dorm room by a student who had been previously kicked out of school after accusations of rape, inappropriate sexual comments and touching, and exposing himself to female students and staff. The Arizona Republic reports that he “was allowed to return to campus in August 2003 and to rejoin the football team, but he received no counseling.”

“Historically, universities have downplayed rapes,” said Joanne Belknap, a sociology professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder and researcher in violence against women. “In general, they don’t want people to know about it because people won’t want to send their daughters there and women won’t want to come.”
This is the first settlement to require a statewide system of universities to change the way it responds to complaints of sexual harassment and violence, and it sends a warning to all universities and colleges, Belknap said.

For more information on sexual assault on college campuses and ways to get involved, check out SAFER.