Podcast Summary: Something Was Wrong

Episode: S25 Ep4: "Institutional Betrayal: How Title IX Fails Survivors" with Dr. Nicole Bedera
Host: Tiffany Reiss
Date: January 26, 2026
Production: Broken Cycle Media

Overview

This episode features a deep-dive conversation between host Tiffany Reiss and sociologist Dr. Nicole Bedera, centered on how universities systematically fail survivors of sexual violence—especially through the abuse and misapplication of Title IX processes. Drawing on Dr. Bedera’s research and her book On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence, the discussion explores the cultural, structural, and procedural ways in which institutions enact and perpetuate “institutional betrayal,” leaving survivors unsupported and often retraumatized.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Dr. Bedera’s Background and Motivation

• Victim advocacy roots: Dr. Bedera recounts how her time as a hospital victim advocate, supporting survivors immediately after assaults, galvanized her research interests.
  • “It became so obvious to me that the system is so fundamentally oppressive, which is different than broken... it's meant to oppress victims of violence.” (06:28)
• Pursuing academia to effect change: Frustrated with the prevailing literature and institutional responses, she sought answers through research.

2. Institutional Betrayal and the “Good School” Myth

• Symbolic compliance: Universities work to appear safe and progressive, leveraging public trust, but often fail to enforce meaningful support or accountability.
  • “Schools engage in something called symbolic compliance… they put a lot of effort into convincing us that they are compliant with civil rights law… but that's all it ever was, was symbols.” (13:28)
• False assurances: Practices like giving out rape whistles are cited as empty gestures that mask lack of substantive change.

3. Barriers to Accessing Justice in Title IX

• Opaque systems: Universities intentionally create complex, confusing reporting pathways—a “maze”—that exhaust survivors and often lead nowhere.
  • “There are all of these different options a survivor can take, but it would take an expert, and there are very few, to sit down with a survivor and say, for the outcome you want, go left here, right here, then another right... if you turn any other way, it's not going to work out.” (28:22)
• Reporting vs. complaints: Most universities treat simple reports as dead-ends unless the survivor navigates to the “correct” complaint process—an ambiguity that knocks out ~80% of cases (28:05–32:44).
• Fragmentation: Administrators break up patterns of violence into isolated incidents, instead of treating multiple reports against a serial perpetrator as connected (41:00).

4. Systemic and Cultural Complicity

• “Himpathy” and gender bias: Administrators display excessive empathy for male perpetrators, often justifying inaction by diminishing survivors’ worth.
  • “The school administrators... weren’t thinking about victims much at all, and they were just thinking about what would make life as easy as possible for the perpetrator.” (26:54)
  • “One life is already ruined. Why ruin two?” (25:28)
• Bias in power structures: Hierarchical, male-dominated, and competitive campus spaces (e.g., fraternities, sports, theater) are especially high-risk for abuse (20:06–23:34).
• Faculty complicity: Professors and staff—regardless of their feminist credentials—tend to side with perpetrators, especially when they know them personally (45:39–47:44).

5. Procedural Trauma and Retraumatization

• Re-traumatizing steps: Survivors are harmed both by inaction and by explicit elements like cross-examination, which is designed to be harsh and disincentivize reporting.
  • “Cross examination was banned under the Obama administration's approach. And one of the reasons that it came back is because men's rights activists and their allies wanted to traumatize survivors…” (51:45)
• Disproportionate burden: The system requires the survivor’s attendance for evidence, while perpetrators can avoid hearings and have their self-incriminating evidence excluded (52:48).

6. Institutional Priorities: Perpetrators Over Survivors

• Perpetrator protection: Universities are more concerned with legal/financial risk, reputation, and maintaining patriarchal norms than upholding survivors’ rights (42:33).
  • “Universities use gender as a proxy for power… they're not interested in building a system that protects only the most wealthy, powerful, favorite men… gender is the only proxy they use.” (44:01)
• Structural conflicts of interest: Having in-house Title IX offices creates fundamental bias and barriers to justice.

7. Faculty/Staff Sexual Violence

• Lack of reporting and accountability: Cases involving staff perpetrating violence against students are especially underreported and under-addressed, often by design (56:21).
• Education as leverage: Faculty can further harm or retaliate against survivors by controlling their academic prospects and opportunities (59:43).

8. Needed Reforms and Where Change Is Possible

• Reform is possible but requires drastic overhaul: Dr. Bedera argues for independent, external oversight of Title IX processes.
  • “The entire system needs revision… our work is almost easier when we can just say, we can throw it all out, let's completely start over.” (62:37)
• Independent advocacy as a partial solution: State-level reforms, such as in California, protect victim advocates from institutional retaliation and ensure minimum standards (64:45).
• Complexity is orchestrated, not inherent: Much of the process confusion is by design, not necessity (67:13).

9. Hope and Pathways for Change

• Natural moral outrage as hope: Newcomers to the topic are often quickly outraged—this capacity for change suggests the core issues are not insurmountable (68:35).
  • “I can tell it doesn't have to be this way and that the solutions to end sexual violence in our institutions are at our fingertips.” (69:33)
• Simple actions make a difference: Faculty, employers, and community members can provide tangible support by removing barriers, restoring autonomy, and supporting local survivor organizations (71:31).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On symbolic compliance:
  “It's the rape whistle. Universities... were handing out rape whistles at orientation... but rape whistles aren't a particularly useful intervention. They assume that the perpetrator is a stranger... The same thing is happening on college campuses today.”
  — Dr. Nicole Bedera (14:18)

• On institutional betrayal:
  “A lot of the trauma that we ascribe to the sexual assault comes from institutional betrayal. So if a survivor gets the support they need right away... they can recover very quickly. A lot of that enduring trauma comes from going to ask for help and being told no.”
  — Dr. Nicole Bedera (25:44)

• On perpetrator protection:
  “It gives me some hope that it takes training... to get people to betray survivors in this way… If we could change the powers at be... I think we could end sexual violence in our whole society within a generation.”
  — Dr. Nicole Bedera (68:35–70:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Dr. Bedera’s NYT op-ed and backlash: 03:48–06:08
• Victim advocacy to researcher journey: 06:08–08:51
• Accessing Title IX offices as a researcher: 08:51–11:47
• The “good school” myth & symbolic compliance: 11:47–16:44
• Warning signs of unsafe campus spaces: 19:55–23:34
• Universities’ misunderstandings and “himpathy”: 23:34–27:54
• Maze of reporting & “illusionary pathways”: 27:54–33:03
• Informal vs. formal complaints: 33:03–39:14
• Fragmenting violence: 40:54–42:22
• Gender and university priorities: 42:33–45:33
• Faculty/staff complicity: 45:33–48:43
• Procedural retraumatization—cross-examination: 48:49–54:34
• Faculty perpetrators and system gaps: 56:15–62:26
• How to reform Title IX: 62:26–68:26
• Sources of hope: 68:26–71:22
• What listeners can do: 71:22–74:46
• Where to find Dr. Bedera: 75:01–75:31

Action Steps and Resources

• Listen to survivors: Shift focus from punishing perpetrators to removing barriers for, and restoring autonomy to, survivors.
• Advocate for independent oversight: Demand legislative reforms for state or federally administered victim advocacy.
• Support local organizations: Donate to community-based rape crisis centers and shelters that are losing funding.
• Push for transparency: Ask your local colleges to publish their informal resolution options and commit to standardizing accessible pathways.
• Education and vigilance: Be aware of environments that are male-dominated, hierarchical, and competitive; seek to flatten hierarchies and support gender equity.

Further Information

• Dr. Nicole Bedera’s Book: On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence
• Dr. Bedera’s Website: nicolebadera.com
• Consulting: Beyond Compliance Consulting
• Follow Dr. Bedera: Blue Sky @NBadera

This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to understand the multi-layered failures of Title IX in protecting survivors, as well as what true reform and healing might look like within educational institutions.