Brigham Young University Students Protest Honor Code Punishment For Sexual Assault Victim In Utah

Students gathered outside Brigham Young University Wednesday to protest the Mormon school’s handling of sexual assault cases and to call for changes to its “honor code,” a set of rules aimed at enforcing the university's religious standards. But some students say the code has allowed rape victims to be punished for violations like having consumed alcohol or having a member of the opposite sex in a bedroom.

The protests came after students expressed anger over the sexual assault case of BYU sophomore Madi Barney, who reported to Provo, Utah, police that she was raped in her off-campus apartment, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

After Barney reported her case to the police and they confirmed her story via a staged phone call between Barney and the perpetrator, a Utah County sheriff’s deputy who was friends with the accused attacker gave BYU a copy of the case file. This led to the university summoning Barney for a disciplinary hearing.

“We have received information that you have been a victim of behavior that is addressed in the university sexual misconduct policy,” a BYU administrator wrote to Barney in December, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “We have also received information that you have engaged in behavior that violates the BYU Honor Code. I would like to meet with you and provide you with the information that we have received and give you an opportunity to respond.”

The BYU honor code prohibits drinking, using drugs, wearing form-fitting clothing and engaging in premarital sex. Barney brought her case out into the open last week and drafted a petition demanding that BYU change its honor code to give victims of sexual assault immunity. The petition has since gained more than 90,000 signatures.

Protesters on Wednesday brought the petition to BYU Academic Vice President Brent Webb, who said he would make sure the university president saw it. “We welcome you here, and we thank you for your concern,” Webb told protesters.

Protesters said Wednesday that Barney did not attend the event due to safety concerns. Under advice from her attorney, Barney chose not to participate in BYU’s honor code hearing, after which the university blocked her from registering for classes. She has filed an official complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, saying that her school denied her services that federal law requires be available to sexual assault victims.

BYU said this week it was considering changes and would examine the relationship between its Title IX department, which is federally mandated to handle sexual assault complaints, and its Honor Code Office.