American Civil Liberties Union

On June 23rd, 1972, President Nixon signed Title IX into law. Nearly 40 years later, the passage of Title IX is viewed as an unequivocal milestone in the struggle to protect, defend and expand civil liberties. As we celebrate Title IX’s 40th birthday, it is worth reflecting on its significance, as well as on the challenges that lie ahead.

December 6th, 2010, was a day in my life I will never understand, and probably never come to grips with. I thought that a school was the safest place to be — it turned out that I was never more wrong in my life. You see, that was the day I was raped at school and the day I went to a teacher for protection. I thought I would be taken care of. At age 17 you are not fully an adult. You rely on others who are adults to help you. This did not happen to me. I was told to "confront my attacker." My world began to spin. The bullying went beyond the fist. It went through the skin and bones to my very soul, and now I had no help at all. How was I going to tell my parents about this? What was going to happen to my world? In fact, the teacher I had told saw my parents that night and never said a word. Eventually my family and I turned to the police, but if it was not for a friend of mine I confided in nothing would have ever happened, and I wouldn't be sharing this with you or trying to pull others up through the hell they have been through.