Sexual Assault

The Center for Justice & Democracy at New York Law School (CJ&D) has long been a champion for the country’s civil justice system. Part of their work involves raising public awareness of the insidious nature of “tort reform,” and the effects that it has on all of us. Their latest in-depth publication focuses on survivors…

Sexual assault survivors who report the attack to the police or discuss it with others often experience a lot of doubt on those with whom they speak. They are often asked questions related to fighting back, screaming, and finding a way to remove themselves from the situation. Facing this doubt from others can be just…

United States Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed changes to campus sexual assault rules at the college and K-12 levels of the education system. These changes have been met with tough resistance from members of the academic world, the ACLU, and the public. This has become such a hot topic of discussion and debate that…

A.J. Calloway, the host of Extra, is facing allegations of sexual assault. Calloway was suspended earlier in February by Warner Bros. for the mounting accusations against him. So far, six women have accused Calloway of sexual assault or sexual harassment, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter. Calloway’s suspension came right before a tell-all…

A recent docu-series about R. Kelly airing on Lifetime television has resulted in renewed law enforcement interest in the 52-year-old singer. The three-part series features multiple women alleging they were part of the singer’s notorious sex cult, with some mentioning seeing other girls and women on Kelly’s property against their will. “Surviving R. Kelly” documents…

A new study shows that victims of sexual assault and harassment deal with mental and physical effects long after the trauma occurred. Researchers found that middle-aged women with a history of harassment and assault in their younger years suffer from hypertension, anxiety, depression, and poor sleep. The study, “Association of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault…

In September of 2016, the California state legislature voted to eliminate the statute of limitations from criminal rape cases. The lifting of these restrictions means that charges can be brought regardless of the amount of time that has passed since the alleged rape. While this change is widely seen as a win for victim’s rights…

A long-awaited report on sexual assaults in the military was finally been released on September 21, and its biggest takeaway is that women and men are more likely to be assaulted on a United States Navy ship than any other type of military installation. Further, the ship most likely to be involved is an aircraft…

A young woman in California is suing her alleged sexual assault perpetrator as well as two UCLA fraternities concerning policies she asserts are insufficient to protect future and alleged victims. The woman claims that a man perpetrated sexual assault against her at an August 2016 party. Identified as Jane Doe in the court filing, the…

The state of California has passed, and the Governor has signed into law, new legislation that protects the confidentiality communications between sexual assault victims and their counselors on college campuses in the state. California Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes introduced the bill – AB 1896 – back in January. Now law as of July 18, it provides…

National Public Radio (NPR) released an investigation early this year regarding people with intellectual disabilities and sexual assault. The numbers were, unfortunately, appalling. As the United States deals with an ugly period in history with the explosion of #MeToo, our most vulnerable population seems to be left behind. NPR, with assistance from the Justice Department,…

In late June, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York announced that Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick was accused of sexually abusing a teen 45 years ago while serving as a priest in New York. After a forensic investigation and review of those results by the Archdiocesan Review Board, the accusations were found credible. The Vatican…

In 1989, the University of Southern California hired a doctor named George Tyndall for their Engemann Student Health Center. Over the years, rumors and stories started to swirl about Tyndall’s behavior – a suggestive or lewd comment here, an inappropriate touch there. In the 1990s, his coworkers even alleged that he was taking photographs of…

In January of last year, a woman got into what she believed was an Uber outside a Hollywood nightclub. Instead, her evening turned into a nightmare as she had unwittingly entered the vehicle of a rapist posing as an Uber driver, who took her to a secluded area and assaulted her. Nicolas Morales, 44, was…

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made headlines after some controversial comments on a March 11 appearance on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” During a discussion about her department’s changes on how colleges should report sexual assaults, she appeared to suggest that the number of false accusations was equal to the number of actual, real assaults. When host…

With more than 10,000 rape kits sitting untested in California, lawmakers have introduced a bill that will address the backlog and ensure future kits will be tested in a timely manner. Senator Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) introduced legislation in late February that would require law enforcement and forensic labs to more promptly test rape kit…

One of the most reprehensible and horrific crimes is the sexual exploitation of children. Sexual assault is any kind of non-consensual sexual activity, and it can range from subtle to violent. Types of sexual crimes against children can include rape, sexual threats and intimidation, incest, assault by partners, human trafficking, harassment, street harassment and other…

Someone in America is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds. Sexual assault is any kind of non-mutual sexual activity, from subtle to violent. This can include rape, sexual threats and intimidation, incest, sexual assault by partners, child sexual abuse, sexual trafficking, sexual harassment, street harassment and other forms of unwelcome, coerced or non-consensual activity [CALCASA]. Assault…

On November 14, two anonymous plaintiffs filed a class-action lawsuit against Uber in the Northern District of California. The suit, filed on behalf of all women who have suffered sexual assault at the hands of Uber drivers, alleges the company’s lax driver screening endangers women on a daily basis. According to the lawsuit, “Since Uber…

California state Senator Connie Leyva is trying to put an end to secret sexual assault and harassment settlements. Currently, if a lawsuit is settled out of court, the terms can include signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that effectively silences the victim from ever discussing the case. Senator Leyva wants to put an end to this…

While it can be challenging to find recent, reliable statistics about the number of drug-assisted sexual assaults, the prevalence of social awareness, the proliferation of new club drugs that double as date-rape drugs, and the lack of widely available drug detection devices have all contributed to a recent rise in date rapes facilitated by chemicals.…

A case that hit the news in June of 2017 – the arrest of Uber independently-contracted driver Alaric Spence– expanded as the LAPD put out a request in late September for additional alleged victims to come forward. The case moving forward involves a passenger falling asleep in Spence’s vehicle, only to awaken hours later in…

For modern children, who have a myriad of afterschool activities and likely two working parents, the adult they spend the most time in a day with is probably a teacher. It is reprehensible when any adult betrays the responsibility owed to protect a child, but particularly so when the infringement is abuse of a sexual…