The Carceral Logic of Title IX

Abstract

Universities in the United States have undertaken the goal of addressing gender-based violence (GBV) on campus. Legal reforms have provided guidance on how this should be done, including the adoption of Title IX and the 2011 Dear Colleague letter. This guidance focuses on limiting liability concerns through mandatory/responsible employee reporting and investigatory practices rather than providing survivors with autonomy and healing. Proponents of Title IX argue that these changes to the law structurally address GBV; however, we argue that efforts to reform the law are surface-level and instead serve the goals of the neoliberal university. Furthermore, the processes in place are emotionally taxing and traumatizing for survivors, also referred to as institutional betrayal. While we are not suggesting that Title IX investigations contribute to the prison industrial complex, we do argue Title IX policies and processes operate with carceral logic in a way that individualizes harm and protects the institution, which we call campus control. We then conclude with recommendations for the field of GBV research and activism to reckon with what a “decarcerated university” may look like and specifically look to prison abolition feminists for guidance on divesting from and dismantling harmful processes and institutions.