Sexual Violence

Students at Swarthmore College say they plan to file a second federal complaint claiming that the school has not adequately responded to reports of sexual assault. A coalition called Swarthmore Assault Prevention and Survivor Advocates (SAPSA) said the new filing will allege that the college violated Title IX provisions by allowing a sexually hostile environment and denying women equal access to education opportunities. The Title IX law, commonly associated with funding for women's sports, also contains civil-rights regulations.

JUST AS not all the news is fit to print, not all reports about the news are fit to print. Such is clearly the case with Dana DiFilippo's article "A Genital Reminder" (May 18). Ms. DiFilippo has treated a hideous act of sexual violence, allegedly committed by a Philadelphia woman against her sleeping husband, as an occasion for unrestrained pun-making and joviality. It beggars belief that the Daily News, or any mainstream newspaper, would print an article that so trivializes domestic violence, much less a felonious assault involving sexual mutilation.

We are reminded that the escalation of sexual violence has become an increasingly acute mental health problem, manifested in costs to both victims and society as a whole. The long term psychological impact of sexual assault on adult and child victims has been documented many times. The costs incurred by society include a network of medical and psychological services provided to aid victim recovery, and the investigation, trial and incarceration of offenders - often in segregated units or special facilities.

A national issue burst onto a Pennsylvania campus Wednesday when more than 200 Dickinson College students staged a '60s-style sit-in to protest the school's handling of sexual assault cases. Filing into the school's administration building, the students demanded that the Carlisle college make its policies on sexual violence more transparent. They called for the school to issue red alerts when an assault occurs and take a stronger stance against sexual offenses, with mandatory and irreversible expulsion for offenders.

HARRISBURG - The state House approved a bill Thursday night to allow expert witnesses to testify for the prosecution in rape cases and sent it to Gov. Corbett, who is expected to sign it. The bill, approved without debate, will end Pennsylvania's status as the only state without such a law. "This is a bipartisan victory," said Rep. Cherelle L. Parker (D., Phila.), who joined with cosponsor Kate Harper (R., Montgomery) in thanking their House colleagues. Sponsors said the legislation would allow experts to help victims at trial by describing for jurors the dynamics of sexual violence and - for example - offer explanations for why a victim did not immediately report the attack go to a hospital.

TO THE Honorable Teresa Carr Deni: I read with incredulity your ruling that the assault of a rape victim should be charged as "theft of services. " It minimizes the brutality of rape and demeans women of all classes. It reinforces the outdated and dangerous notion that some women can't be raped. As a judge, you should be mindful of the way your comments can reinforce certain myths about rape. Clearly, the law is designed to protect all people equally from violence, and while the system isn't perfect, the judiciary has a responsibility to honor the core principles of equal protection, especially when speaking publicly about a crime.

WHY THE excessive coverage, not only of Allen Iverson but his lovely wife Tawanna? Perhaps we should ask the question, in lieu of all the kudos thrown at her, how strong she really is - and why does she stay with him? Is it the love for him, their two children - or the fact that he's a multimillionaire basketball player. She's not exactly Melissa from North Philly, who Barbara Laker tells about in her article, "Abuse Victims Feel for Tawanna. " She's not poor, surely she could get a good lawyer to represent her. Cynthia Bentley, Levittown He's not a 'sex' fiend Re: the article "Two Women Raped in Center City" (Aug.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Clergy sex-abuse victims upset that no high-ranking Roman Catholic leaders have been prosecuted for sheltering guilty priests went to the International Criminal Court on Tuesday, seeking an investigation of the pope and top Vatican cardinals for possible crimes against humanity. The Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York-based nonprofit legal group, requested the inquiry on behalf of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, arguing that the global church has maintained a "long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence," despite promises to swiftly oust predators.

La Salle took steps to prevent sexual violence The recent news stories about the alleged rape at La Salle University make it important to remember that the alleged attack does not represent the La Salle community as a whole ("Two La Salle players arraigned on rape charges," July 11). Years before these allegations were made, the university community began making efforts to combat sexual violence. One of these efforts is a large-scale campus program called Take Back the Night, which seeks to inform students of the dangers of sexual violence and show them ways to protect themselves.

Most Americans probably share at least some of the motivation that so intensely animates Attorney General Edwin Meese 3d's Commission on Pornography. Who could deny, after all, that the sleaze quotient in American society has soared since the 1960s? It was predictable, perhaps inevitable, that in an era of reaction to the cultural swings of the post-war era, an official commission would arise to crusade against pornography. Some of the commission's essential points are valid: The most extreme pornography is beneath contempt.