DEAR ABBY: Our daughter came home for spring break from college with troubling news. She has been sexually harassed by a very large and aggressive lesbian in her dorm this year. When the girl first came on to her, my daughter told her NO. Later, on two separate occasions, the girl pushed her to the floor and groped her in the lobby of the dorm.
My daughter was afraid to fight the girl because she's small. She was also afraid to report it -- I guess she thought it was an isolated incident.
Recently she found out that the girl has done the same thing to several other girls. They all went to the Title IX people on campus to file a complaint, but were told they won't get any answers until late summer, which is after school is out.
Is this kind of harassment common in our schools? Should she take it to the campus police or city police? Our daughter really likes her college, but she shouldn't have to put up with this. -- TROUBLING NEWS
DEAR TROUBLING NEWS: I agree that your daughter -- and the other girls -- should not have to put up with being assaulted. I wish you had revealed a little bit more about what happened when the assaults were reported. Was the aggressor counseled? Warned to stay away from the girls she had harassed? Removed from the dorm?
If nothing was done, before informing the police, I'm advising you to discuss this with a lawyer because a school that would ignore what happened may be liable.