New Book Highlights Systemic Problems in the Title IX Office

In Nicole Bedera’s new book, On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence (University of California Press, 2024), the Title IX consultant and sexual violence researcher investigates the nation’s Title IX offices through the lens of one public university, which she gives the pseudonym Western University. Her findings, drawn from interviews with various university constituents and her analysis of hundreds of documents, are shocking: Almost no student who experienced sexual harassment or assault received institutional support. And many had their educational journeys derailed, choosing to remove themselves from college, class or other situations to avoid the perpetrators.