The infamous Liberty University is making headlines again, this time for allegedly punishing students who report sexual assault. According to ProPublica, students who report rape are in violation of the school’s code of conduct, known as the Liberty Way, and as a result, these students have been not only threatened but penalized in some form including finding them guilty for premarital sex and drinking alcohol.
ProPublica spoke to more than 50 former students in addition to receiving records from over a dozen cases. At least three students who spoke to the outlet said they were asked to sign reports upon reporting their assault, with the form stating that they recognized they could be penalized for breaking the school’s ethics code, which barred alcohol and premarital sex.
“I remember thinking, ‘What? Are you kidding me?’” A former student said. “‘I could get in trouble for coming forward and reporting?’”
Students were also convinced not to file charges or speak about the issue despite staff being legally required to report conversations to the Title IX office.
“I feel like Liberty bullied me into silence after what happened to me,” another former student identified as Diane Stargel told ProPublica. “I’ve always regretted that I never got my day in court. But at least now I can stand up and say, ‘Yeah, that happened to me.’”
Additionally, important aspects of the case files were removed, including photos, because they were too “explicit.”
One student, identified as Elizabeth Axley, told ProPublica that after being raped in 2017, she took pictures of her bruised body for her case file. The photos were initially removed.
“I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach,” Axley recalled. “I had been relying on them all these months to take my evidence into account when considering my case, and it wasn’t even in my file.”
After she resubmitted them, the committee still determined her alleged rapist was “not responsible” for the assault because of a “preponderance of the evidence.”
Due to the policies in place, some students even told ProPublica they did not go forward with reporting their assault because “I knew I would face the blame for putting myself in that situation.”
But this isn’t the first report detailing the horrendous way the university addressed allegations of rape. In July, at least a dozen anonymous former students filed a lawsuit against the university, noting the university’s lack of care towards sexual assault victims. Additionally, the lawsuit argued that the “public and repeated retaliation against women who did report their victimization” made for a dangerous campus environment.
Former and current students aren’t the only ones speaking up on the injustices: Amongst those speaking up against Liberty University’s policies and treatment of survivors is former Senior Vice President of Communications Scott Lamb. Lamb referred to the school’s inability to speak up and report an assault on campus as a “conspiracy of silence.” He was fired earlier this month after first bringing up the school’s inability to address sexual assault internally.
“Concerns about sexual assault would go up the chain and then die,” Lamb said.
Lamb is also suing the university for his allegedly being fired in retaliation for calling out officials on their bad handling of reports of sexual assault and harassment. According to The Washington Post, he filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that the university’s policies were not only a breach of Title IX, but discriminatory on the basis of sex.
The university obviously responded by claiming Lamb was a “liar” and was fired because of managerial review. However, Lamb himself tweeted a statement saying his lawsuit "alleges that Liberty University has been behaving badly and has drifted from the original mission."
Of course, despite these reports, Liberty University is more concerned about elections and supporting conservatives who allow its university to prosper than working on addressing the allegations brought to light.
ProPublica’s report not only highlights Liberty University’s lack of concern for sexual assault, but sheds light on a broader issue of how evangelical institutions handle these situations. According to Mother Jones, Liberty University is not the only evangelical institution under fire: At least 11 women who attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago said school administrators shamed them after they reported being assaulted. Reports like this allow action to not only be taken, but survivors with similar experiences to speak out. We can only hope that as more cases come to light, schools take these allegations more seriously.
ProPublica spoke to more than 50 former students in addition to receiving records from over a dozen cases. At least three students who spoke to the outlet said they were asked to sign reports upon reporting their assault, with the form stating that they recognized they could be penalized for breaking the school’s ethics code, which barred alcohol and premarital sex.
“I remember thinking, ‘What? Are you kidding me?’” A former student said. “‘I could get in trouble for coming forward and reporting?’”
Students were also convinced not to file charges or speak about the issue despite staff being legally required to report conversations to the Title IX office.
“I feel like Liberty bullied me into silence after what happened to me,” another former student identified as Diane Stargel told ProPublica. “I’ve always regretted that I never got my day in court. But at least now I can stand up and say, ‘Yeah, that happened to me.’”
Additionally, important aspects of the case files were removed, including photos, because they were too “explicit.”
One student, identified as Elizabeth Axley, told ProPublica that after being raped in 2017, she took pictures of her bruised body for her case file. The photos were initially removed.
“I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach,” Axley recalled. “I had been relying on them all these months to take my evidence into account when considering my case, and it wasn’t even in my file.”
After she resubmitted them, the committee still determined her alleged rapist was “not responsible” for the assault because of a “preponderance of the evidence.”
Due to the policies in place, some students even told ProPublica they did not go forward with reporting their assault because “I knew I would face the blame for putting myself in that situation.”
But this isn’t the first report detailing the horrendous way the university addressed allegations of rape. In July, at least a dozen anonymous former students filed a lawsuit against the university, noting the university’s lack of care towards sexual assault victims. Additionally, the lawsuit argued that the “public and repeated retaliation against women who did report their victimization” made for a dangerous campus environment.
Former and current students aren’t the only ones speaking up on the injustices: Amongst those speaking up against Liberty University’s policies and treatment of survivors is former Senior Vice President of Communications Scott Lamb. Lamb referred to the school’s inability to speak up and report an assault on campus as a “conspiracy of silence.” He was fired earlier this month after first bringing up the school’s inability to address sexual assault internally.
“Concerns about sexual assault would go up the chain and then die,” Lamb said.
Lamb is also suing the university for his allegedly being fired in retaliation for calling out officials on their bad handling of reports of sexual assault and harassment. According to The Washington Post, he filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that the university’s policies were not only a breach of Title IX, but discriminatory on the basis of sex.
The university obviously responded by claiming Lamb was a “liar” and was fired because of managerial review. However, Lamb himself tweeted a statement saying his lawsuit "alleges that Liberty University has been behaving badly and has drifted from the original mission."
Of course, despite these reports, Liberty University is more concerned about elections and supporting conservatives who allow its university to prosper than working on addressing the allegations brought to light.
ProPublica’s report not only highlights Liberty University’s lack of concern for sexual assault, but sheds light on a broader issue of how evangelical institutions handle these situations. According to Mother Jones, Liberty University is not the only evangelical institution under fire: At least 11 women who attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago said school administrators shamed them after they reported being assaulted. Reports like this allow action to not only be taken, but survivors with similar experiences to speak out. We can only hope that as more cases come to light, schools take these allegations more seriously.