Katz, Marshall & Banks partners Debra S. Katz and Lisa J. Banks filed a complaint with the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights on behalf of Feminists United on Campus, a student-run organization at the University of Mary Washington ("UMW") that is dedicated to educating the student body and fighting for gender equality, as well as several members and former members of the organization (collectively, "the Complainants"), alleging that UMW condoned and ratified a sexually hostile environment by permitting ongoing, gender based cyber-stalking and cyber assaults of the Complainants. Our clients have requested that the OCR secure an assurance of compliance with Title IX from UMW in addition to full remedies for those violations for the injuries Complainants have sustained as a result of the University’s systemic failure to protect them from a sexually hostile school environment, from sex-based cyber assaults, and from threats of physical and sexual violence, and as a result of the University’s failure to take immediate effective action to eliminate the sexually hostile environment, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects. For more information on our clients' complaint against UMW, see the complaint and a compilation of press coverage below.
Complaint - Feminists United et al v. University of Mary Washington (May 7, 2015) Exhibits to Complaint (May 7, 2015)
[Video shown above] Group Files Sex Discrimination Complaint Against University of Mary Washington, NBC-4 Washington (May 7, 2015)
[Video] Feminist group accuses UMW of failing to act on threats following murder of student, WJLA-ABC7 (May 7, 2015)
[Audio] Students Say University Of Mary Washington Failed To Address Yik Yak Threats, NPR (May 7, 2015)
Putting the Heat on Yik Yak After a Killing on Campus, New York Times (Jan. 7, 2016)
Complaint Claims University Where Student Was Killed Failed To Act On Relentless Yik Yak Threats, Huffington Post (May 7, 2015)
Rape Threats On Yik Yak At Center Of Federal Complaint Against University Of Mary Washington, Buzzfeed (May 7, 2015)
Students sue Virginia university after campus feminist group member killed, The Guardian (May 7, 2015)
Campus uproar over Yik Yak app after sex harassment, murder, CNN Money (May 7, 2015)
Feminists File Title IX Complaint Against University of Mary Washington, Ms. Magazine (May 7, 2015)
University of Mary Washington, Where Woman Was Killed, Faces Scrutiny, New York Times (May 6, 2015)
Feminists at Mary Washington say they were threatened on Yik Yak, Washington Post (May 6, 2015)
