A UNC-Chapel Hill student who claims she is a victim of rape last spring faces the possibility of expulsion for speaking out against her attacker.
Landen Gambill, a UNC-CH student, alleged victim of rape, never publically identified her attacker, but administrators charged her Friday with a violation in the University Honor Court on the grounds that her speaking out creates an “intimidating environment” for her alleged attacker, according to a post she made on Facebook. Last spring, the Honor Court dropped all charges of rape against the alleged rapist, who Gambill identified as an ex-boyfriend.
Gambill said the Honor Court used her history of clinical depression and attempted suicide as reason to dismiss her claims, although she said these were results of an abusive relationship with her rapist, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
“They implied that I was emotionally unstable and couldn’t be telling the truth because I had attempted suicide,” Gambill said in The Daily Tar Heel.
Mary Koenig, a UNC-CH student in psychology and sexuality studies, and a friend of Gambill, said solving abusive relationships is more complex than simply breaking up with the abuser.
“It seems like [the University is] trying so hard to silence her,” Koenig said.
In January, Gambill represented herself as well as more than 60 other sexual-assault survivors, but administrators and the Honor Court charged her with a violation of the university’s honor code — displaying disruptive and intimidating behavior — and the court threatened Gambill with a penalty of possible expulsion.
“I think the situation around [the charges against her] is really telling of cultural silence,” Koenig said.
Some students have called attention to the fact that one woman on the Honor Court tried to explain that, “as a woman,” she would have just broken off her abusive relationship, so why didn’t Gambill, according to The Daily Tar Heel.
Koenig said the fact that a woman “oppressing” Gambill is irrelevant.
“Everybody’s part of the culture,” Koenig said.
Students across North Carolina have taken action and are spreading support for Gambill’s side, even tagging tweets with the hashtag #StandWithLanden.
“It’s important to me that we continue to advocate for the rights of survivors,” Gambill said in a Facebook post, “not just because it affects me personally, but because I desperately hope no one has to go through anything like this again.”