The New Sex Ed

After surviving sexual assaults in college, Alexandra Brodsky and Dana Bolger founded an organization to teach every student about her rights on U.S. campuses.

It started with a phone call after a mutual friend introduced us. As undergrads at Yale University [Alexandra] and Amherst College [Dana] we were frustrated by our schools’ lackluster responses to assault complaints. We quickly realized that we weren’t alone in our exasperation, and in 2013 these shared experiences prompted us to create Know Your IX, a survivor led organization working to build safer campuses. Soon we were activist partners and, eventually, best friends. Most people don’t think of sexual assault as a civil rights issue. But many students across the country know too well that

sharing a library with your rapist can make it hard to learn.

In a recent survey by The Association of American Universities, 23 percent of female undergraduate respondents experienced some form of sexual assault or misconduct. That kind of atmosphere promotes inequality and keeps already marginalized individuals from reaching their potential. Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex by schools receiving federal funding. This includes protection against sexual assaults, harassment, and rape. Schools must investigate reported cases, provide recourse to victims, and take steps to prevent violence. For decades, though, universities were able to ignore 

Title IX because there was little oversight, and most students thought it applied only to sports. We wanted to fix that. Trading e-mails between classes, we worked with dozens of survivors to break down Title IX in an easy-todigest way. What started as a social media campaign is now a national nonprofit, and we’ve made some noise that has been hard for politicians to disregard. In part because of our efforts, and those of our allies, in 2014 the U.S. Department of Education released the names of 55 schools being investigated for possible violations—a list that’s still growing. And when the White House created its new Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, which spearheads the federal government’s response to campus assaults, we received word that our work impacted its decision to do so. Five of our members have even testified before Congress. Stopping violence is a grueling task, but we support a powerful network of young activists who will stop at nothing to make sure that every school is equitable. The work is far from done, but nothing beats bringing about change with your bestie by your side. —ALEXANDRA BRODSKY AND DANA BOLGER