A Columbia University student sued the Ivy League institution on Tuesday, saying university staffers were apathetic and unresponsive after she reported being raped and harassed multiple times on campus.
Amelia Roskin-Frazee’s Title IX lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, claims the sexual abuse began in October 2015, just months after the woman enrolled at the upper Manhattan university.
An unknown assailant with curly hair, whom she believes to be another Columbia student, “viciously raped” Roskin-Frazee in her dorm room after slipping in through an unlocked door while she was asleep, her lawyers said.
Unlike other dorms that were equipped with automatic locks and key card access, Roskin-Frazee’s room had old-fashioned key access so the door was constantly left unlocked by suite mates, the lawsuit said. “This could not have happened with the automatic locking system,” said her lawyer Alex Zalkin.
Roskin-Frazee was in so much pain from the attack that she passed out, the lawsuit said.
Roskin-Frazee didn’t immediately report the rape, but she attempted to seek medical help. A few weeks later, she contacted Columbia’s Sexual Violence Response hotline, where a representative told her to call the police and advised her to use birth control.
The Columbia hotline rep never advised her of her rights under Title IX, which prohibits sexual harassment and assault for schools receiving federal funds, the lawsuit said. The university also failed to investigate the claims, said Roskin-Frazee, now a sophomore.
“If they had investigated, they might have been able to identify him before he hurt me again,” Roskin-Frazee told The Post on Tuesday. Also, had they addressed her allegations quickly, “I wouldn’t have been in my same room,” she said.
Click HERE For The Full Article