Rape Victim & Allies Tell Backstory of Lawsuit vs. Liberty U

Guest Bios Show Transcript Twelve women have filed a civil lawsuit, claiming that Liberty University is “enabling on-campus rapes.” On this episode of The Roys Report, one of the 12 Jane Does filing that lawsuit—as well as two of her allies—tell their story spanning 16 years. Their story starts in 2005, when "Jane Doe #2" in the lawsuit was gang raped on Liberty's campus. The victim describes in the podcast how Liberty never informed her of her Title IX rights or launched a Title IX investigation. In fact, the victim says she didn't even know Title IX existed at the time!  The victim's roommate, who also joins us for the podcast, adds that Liberty ignored numerous pleas by the women to improve campus safety, and failed to warn students about the rapists who continued to stalk students on Liberty's campus. After leaving Liberty in 2006, the victim said she tried to forget everything that happened to her. But a few years ago, she divulged her story to a friend and staff member at her church, Bethany Ufema.  Bethany, a Liberty graduate, wasn't surprised by the story. And on this podcast, Bethany shares her own eye-opening account of witnessing how Liberty weaponized its student code of conduct to punish one of her classmates who was raped and another who got pregnant.  Bethany and "Jane Doe #2" also tell of their incredible journey of trying to get answers from Liberty University, which eventually led to a meeting last year with Jonathan Falwell—a school trustee and son of Liberty founder, Jerry Falwell, Sr. According to the women, Falwell promised to do something to make things right, but since their meeting has done nothing.  The story these women tell reveals a shocking pattern at the largest Christian university in the nation. It also brings to light the incredible perseverance of three women whose tenacity has forced Liberty University to face its past sins and neglect. This Weeks Guests Bethany Ufema For over a decade, Bethany has served on staff at her local church leading creative teams that craft digital, visual, and public communication. Through poetry, writing, and preaching, Bethany is passionate about transferring the heart of heaven to a hurting world. She recently released her first book of poems called “Woman,” exploring themes of pain, abuse, identity, forgiveness, and resilience. Kathy" (Jane Doe #2) Liberty University student who was raped in 2005. "Tracy" Kathy's roommate in 2005 at Liberty University. Show Transcript SPEAKERSTRACY, JULIE ROYS, KATHY (Jane Doe #2), BETHANY UFEMA JULIE ROYS 00:04Twelve women have filed a lawsuit claiming that Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the country, is enabling on campus rapes. And on this episode, one of the 12 Jane Doe’s filing that lawsuit, as well as two of her allies, tell their story spanning 16 years. Welcome to The Roys Report, a podcast dedicated to reporting the truth and restoring the church. I’m Julie Roys. And joining me today is a former Liberty University student who says that in 2005, she was gang raped by three men on Liberty’s campus. The woman, who we’ll call Kathy, says she reported the assault to Liberty, but the school never informed her of her Title IX rights, nor did the school launch any investigation. In fact, to this day, Liberty maintains that Kathy never reported her crime. This despite the fact that the school was fined $120,000 by the Department of Education for failing to report Kathy’s crime on its annual crime statistics. But this Kathy says is typical. When she was raped in 2005, she and her roommate pleaded with Liberty to make changes to protect students. But Liberty stonewalled. Then in 2020, Kathy and two key advocates met with Jonathan Falwell, a longtime Liberty