NEW YORK _ President Donald Trump's handling of spousal abuse claims against a former top White House aide has been cited as evidence of the administration's disregard for gender-based violence in a lawsuit over new government guidance on dealing with sexual assault claims at universities.
Nonprofit groups that provide legal services to victims of sexual assault sued in January, alleging the Department of Education's guidance violated federal civil rights law by raising the standard of proof needed to hold offenders responsible. They claim the changes are based on "unfounded generalizations about women and girls, particularly their credibility," and may discourage victims from filing complaints.
The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, was amended this week to include details about the resignation of Trump's former staff secretary, Rob Porter, amid claims he physically abused his two ex-wives. The alleged behavior, which Porter has denied, was slammed by Democrats and some Republicans. But Trump defended Porter and said in a series tweets that "lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation" and without "due process."
"The Administration's disbelief of women and girls and disregard for gender-based violence is also evident from the employment of multiple White House staff members who have been accused of abusing their female partners," the groups said in the lawsuit. Such animus toward women "gives license to and encourages executive branch decision-makers who share the same discriminatory views to perpetuate those views in their work."
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' guidance on how universities should handle student claims of sexual assault, issued in September as a replacement for earlier Obama administration guidelines, violates Title IX by disadvantaging victims of assault and benefiting perpetrators, according to the lawsuit. A similar complaint by the nonprofit organization Equal Means Equal was filed against the administration in October in Boston federal court.
Messages left with the Education Department and the White House weren't immediately returned.
