Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Abuse in Washington DC Schools On June 24th, 58 locally elected officials including myself sent a letter to Washington DC Mayor Bowser asking for information regarding sexual harassment, assault, and abuse in Washington DC schools. Yesterday, I along with a fellow ANC Commissioner and a Capitol…

Title IX Regulations — College Lawyers Don’t Represent the Interests of Students Last fall, I submitted comments to the Department of Education regarding Secretary DeVos’ proposed changes to the Title IX regulations. I submitted them in my role as a locally elected official and former federal agency chief counsel. I…

Catholic Church: Changing the Way Church Lawyers Address Sexual Assault Complaints Everytime I read about the settlement agreements negotiated by the Catholic Church, I immediately ask why didn’t church lawyers call the police and report the sexual assaults. …

In 2016, I asked what I thought was a simple question: “How many and what type of crimes does the Department of Justice prosecute in Washington, DC?” “We don’t keep that information,” DOJ responded. Therefore, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request and then subsequently sued for the data…

College Tours: #MeToo Agent of Change I, like many of you, am visiting colleges with my teenage daughter. And I’m using these visits to teach her how to hold colleges and universities accountable for addressing sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations. During these tours she’ll ask prospective schools about the prosecution rate for sexual assault allegations. She’ll ask them for their written policies on how they respond to allegations.

Executive and Judicial Branch Sexual Harassment Settlements The recent Washington Post articles about sexual harassment at the Department of Justice really upset me. Lawyers have an ethical code for a reason and it clearly wasn’t being followed. So I started writing a letter (see below) which I delivered to Members…

Campus Rapes Aren’t Being Reported to DC Police Yesterday, the Washington Post published an essay I wrote about campus rapes. Local colleges and universities are providing information about these crimes to the U.S. Department of Education pursuant to the CleryAct. Unfortunately, they aren’t providing the same information to local police. Colleges and universities don’t prosecute individuals — that’s the job of the prosecutors. And the prosecutors can’t charge individuals with crimes unless the police have investigated said crimes. It’s my hope that local colleges and universities start sharing all information with them.

Sexual Harassment Settlements and Department of Treasury Accounts Over the weekend we learned that a current member of Congress may have used Department of Treasury funds to settle a sexual harassment claim. …

Last week, I spoke with students at The George Washington University about the prosecution of campus sexual assault. During this discussion, I learned that there is only one medical facility in Washington, DC that performs rape kits. As an alum, I don’t understand this policy. There is a hospital on…