Four months after Brigham Young University came under widespread scrutiny for its handling of sexual-assault cases, the federal government has started investigating the Mormon institution for possible violations of Title IX, the federal gender-equity law.
BYU has joined a list of more than 200 institutions under Title IX investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. University officials said late Monday that the department had informed them of the probe last week.
The complaint that triggered the investigation was filed on April 18, according to a statement from BYU. While officials didn’t comment further on details of the complaint, that’s the same date that Madi Barney, a former BYU student, filed a Title IX complaint against the university.
Ms. Barney in April revealed her experience with BYU’s system for handling sexual-assault allegations. When university officials got wind of a criminal sexual-assault case she was pursuing, she said, they began investigating her for potential Honor Code violations. BYU’s Honor Code bans premarital sex, consumption of alcohol or drugs, and being in the bedroom of a student of the opposite gender, among other things.
Ms. Barney started an online petition arguing that BYU’s practices discourage many victims from reporting assaults and demanding that the university grant students who report rapes immunity from the Honor Code. The petition has garnered more than 115,000 signatures and inspired a handful of current and former BYU students to speak out about feeling victimized by the code after coming forward about sexual assaults.
BYU leaders have repeatedly said that the Honor Code process is separate from the investigation of sexual-assault complaints, though they’ve acknowledged that students could be subject to an Honor Code review after a sexual-assault investigation. They’ve also stressed a commitment to helping BYU students feel safer reporting rapes.
In May the university formed a four-person committee to review its sexual-assault policies and the relationship between the Title IX and Honor Code offices. BYU also created a website to solicit feedback.
BYU’s struggle to balance its moral principles with treating rape victims fairly is similar in some ways to a recent debate at Baylor University, a Baptist institution. Baylor came under fire earlier this year for failing to respond to numerous sexual-assault allegations, including several reports involving football players, and for discouraging victims from coming forward. That university is not under Title IX investigation.
