Educational institutions have had to deal with cases of sexual assault for a very long time. Many times, the way they do it is questionable and not always to the benefit of those assaulted. But what happens when forces out of our control, such as the government shutdown, interfere? Nothing. That’s exactly the problem.
Countless investigations by the government into how universities are handling their sexual assault cases are being put on hold. This means that universities that have failed to comply with the law in dealing with these cases are allowed to continue dealing with the cases as they please as long as the government continues shut down.
The implications of this are big if the government continues its shutdown. It means that while no higher courts are looking investigating these schools, sexual assault cases will continue to be dealt with wrongly. It means that women who are receiving unfair treatment from the same people that should be protecting them will continue to do so. Universities should still suffer the consequences of dealing with rape inappropriately.
You might say that we have “bigger fish to fry”. That this is the least of our worries considering the government has shut down. Yet I think that all the consequences of the shut down are equally important, and just because this pertains to a small section of the population, it doesn’t mean that it’s a lesser evil. One can only hope that those who were to be charged and looked into will still have to undergo the same scrutiny once the government resumes its usual activities. Hopefully, there will also be no long-term effect on how the government and universities deal with sexual assault, but in the meantime, we just want to see justice for the victims of sexual assault.