A student at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) filed an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) complaint alleging the school did not protect her against another student found responsible for sexual assault.
According to the Huffington Post, the two students, both females in a relationship, had reportedly been abusive, and one of the students was found responsible of sexually assaulting the other. The victim's complaint alleges her attacker was allowed to remain on campus after being found guilty.
On behalf of the victim, the ACLU filed her complaint with the U.S. Education Department' Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The government agency, which has conducted several similar investigations, will decide whether or not to answer the complaint. If they do and find CMU to be at fault, punishments could include fines, rewritten polices and more.
According to the ACLU's website, the complainant was named "Gabrielle" for blogging purposes and to keep the victim's identity anonymous.
"I had been diagnosed with PTSD caused by her abuse and was struggling with panic attacks, flashbacks, night terrors, and involuntary shaking," she wrote. "I feared for my life around her, and there didn't seem to be any escape."
According to her complaint, Gabrielle initially tried the school's standard complaint process. She alleged a campus police officer said Gabrielle's report "seemed like revenge." When she brought the issue to a university hearing and the committee asked why she stayed in the relationship after the assaults.
Gabrielle then obtained an order of no contact, but she remained in the same academic department and frequently had classes together. Additionally, Gabrielle alleged her attacker stalked her and used intimidation tactics. The school did find the accused attacker responsible of sexual assault and forced her to review the no contact order, but did not remove her from campus.
CMU declined to comment, citing confidentiality, but said it takes its obligations under the federal gender equality law Title IX very seriously.
Gabrielle wrote the process of reporting her abuse and alleged continued intimidation tactics from her attacker have been "devastating."
"I've been re-traumatized every time I've tried to stand up for myself," she wrote. "Going to school under these conditions is unbearable, but I should not have to leave, nor should I have to compromise my education because of what has happened to me. Somehow, I have faced all of the consequences of my abuser's actions, and there is no reason that I should have to continue to live this way."