For survivors of sexual assault, the trauma can be compounded by another painful experience: struggling to be believed.
That concern is fueling renewed scrutiny of Spelman College as current and former students raise concerns about what they describe as a culture of sexual violence within the Atlanta University Center and an inadequate response from Spelman’s administration.
In October, a Spelman student alleged on social media that she was sexually assaulted by a Morehouse College student.
The issue escalated this week following an Instagram post by student Azali Fortier, who loudly questioned a crowd attending President Ayanna Howard’s book-signing event on artificial intelligence. Fortier and others asked if the event was appropriate given the more pressing issue of fears of sexual violence on campus.
Capturing video of herself, Fortier accused Howard of “silencing students” and protecting alleged sexual predators by failing to take responsibility for student safety.
Last month, Spelman College, Morehouse College and Morehouse School of Medicine issued a joint statement acknowledging concerns about sexual harassment and misconduct within the Atlanta University Center community.
“We as members of the Atlanta University Center Consortium are aware of concerns regarding sexual harassment and misconduct within our community. We take every concern seriously,” the statement said.
“Sexual misconduct, nonconsensual behavior, online harassment and cyberbullying have no place on our campuses.”
Howard’s office did not respond to a SaportaReport request for comment Friday.
A separate statement from faculty, staff and students of the Women’s Research and Resource Center and Comparative Women’s Studies Program at Spelman College struck an urgent tone: “We… insist on naming and addressing rape and all forms of sexual violence on our and all college campuses!”
On Friday, poet, social media influencer and Spelman alumna Lynae Vanee shared a video from a recent Morehouse forum on rape culture that she attended.
“I sat for 45 minutes infuriated by the level of equivocation and condescension these women faced as they were asked over and over again for a cure to rape culture, and how to institutionalize safety, as if the answer was not right in their faces,” Vanee wrote.
Vanee said she experienced what she described as rape culture while attending Spelman and was sexually assaulted by a Morehouse graduate less than a year after graduating.
Sexual violence and questions about institutional accountability are not new to college campuses. Investigations at Cornell University and Louisiana State University continue to make headlines.
At Spelman College and across the Atlanta University Center, there is little indication that calls for greater accountability, through investigations and increased student safety measures, will subside.
