New Sexual Assault Rules Bolsters Rights of Accused

AP

Increased rights to accused assailants to reshape sexual misconduct responses

On Wednesday, the Education Department finalized campus sexual assault rules that increase the rights of the accused, reduce legal liabilities for institutions and narrow the scope of schools’ investigations.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced these changes meant to reshape the way schools respond to complaints of sexual misconduct. They will replace policies from the Obama administration that DeVos said pressured schools to deny the rights of accused students.

Under these new changes, the definition of sexual harassment has been narrowed to include only misconduct severe enough to effectively deny the victim access to the school’s education programs. This includes dating violence, domestic violence and stalking.

The rules from the Obama administration used a wider definition that included conduct that would interfere or limit a student’s access to the school. They included unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors and other conduct of a sexual nature.

New measures are also being implemented to make sure students accused of sexual misconduct are judged fairly in disciplinary hearings. Students on both sides must be given equal access to evidence and allowed to bring an adviser.

Colleges are also now required to allow students on both sides of a case to question one another during live campus hearings. Questioning would have been previously done through representatives.

Thai Elephants Head Home

Millions have been unemployed in Thailand due to the coronavirus, including elephants. These elephants are part of the tourism industry and have now been sent home.

For the elephants, home can be as far as 150 kilometers away in greener pastures in their natural habits. They were previously kept in elephant camps, sanctuaries and tourist parks. As many as 2,000 of these elephants would be at risk of starvation if they were to remain in these parks.

The sharp drop in tourism due to COVID-19 has left many facing the reality that they cannot afford to maintain the upkeep of these animals. Returning the elephants to their natural habitat will allow them to be more self-sufficient. The monthly cost of land and facilities for these animals and their handlers is around 200,000 baht or $6,250, with elephants also eating as much as 660 pounds of food a day.

The Save Elephant Foundation has been promoting the return of these unemployed elephants after many of their owners reported they were unable to feed them. The group promotes settling the elephants in sustainable eco-friendly communities. It is believed that the elephants are abused at many high-profile tourist attractions.

Justices Concerned about Birth Control Coverage Changes

A new sweep of Trump administration rules that would allow more employers to cite a religious or moral objection to providing no-cost birth control to women has the Supreme Court concerned. This coverage is required by the Affordable Care Act.

The justices are in the middle of hearing arguments about the Obama-era health law that requires most employers to cover birth control as a preventive service through their insurance plans.

In 2017, the Trump administration announced a change that would broaden an expansion that previously only applied to houses of worship. This change was blocked by the courts. Chief Justice John Roberts suggested that the Trump’s administration’s reliance on religious freedom law was too broad.

Currently, religiously affiliated organizations can opt-out of paying for contraception, but women on their plans would still receive no-cost birth control. The Trump administration announced a rule change that would allow many more companies or organizations to opt-out of covering birth control without providing alternative means of coverage.

The Associated Press contributing reporting.