About the Authors

Dr. Anna Stumpf and Dr. Rebecca Lee Hammons are educators and researchers who have seen firsthand the impact of Title IX proceedings on young men and their families.

After conducting targeted interviews with students who were falsely accused, their families, and their attorneys, they found a consistent pattern: every family was blindsided. No one had understood the risks before college. No one had a plan. Societal shame kept most families in isolation as they navigated university policies and procedures that felt opaque and overwhelming.

Many interviewees did not wish to speak of their experiences — yet they were eventually willing to share their stories to help prevent other families from going through something this painful.

This handbook is the result: a practical guide to understanding Title IX risks, preparing before college, and knowing what steps to take if an accusation is made.

Our Methodology

This handbook is based on extensive interviews with students, parents, attorneys, and advocates who have navigated Title IX processes. All names, institutions, and identifying details have been changed to protect privacy. In the cases examined for this handbook, the students described the encounters as consensual or involving no intimate contact.

“We do not seek to minimize the scourge of sexual assault. But amid massive attention to the plight of students who are victims of sexual assault, the fate of students who have been wrongfully accused of sexual assault has been virtually ignored.”

— KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor, The Campus Rape Frenzy