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On the Wrong Side: How Universities Protect Perpetrators and Betray Survivors of Sexual Violence
THIS EXPLOSIVE INVESTIGATION REVEALS THE PROFOUND FAILURES OF THE TITLE IX SYSTEM AND IDENTIFIES THE STEPS WE CAN TAKE TO PROTECT STUDENTS
On the Wrong Side provides the first comprehensive account of the inner workings of the secretive Title IX system. Drawing on a yearlong study of survivors, perpetrators, and the administrators who oversaw their cases, sociologist Nicole Bedera exposes the structures that predictably punish survivors who come forward in the service of protecting—or even rewarding—their perpetrators. She reveals that the system tasked with ending gender inequality on campus only intensifies it, upending survivors’ lives and threatening their degrees.
Equally heartbreaking and optimistic, On the Wrong Side makes it easy to imagine life-changing interventions for the next generation of students by proposing specific solutions to the structural problems of Title IX. Bedera proves that ending campus sexual violence is within our grasp—and dares us to be courageous enough to take action.
“Nicole Bedera is one of the most important thinkers of our time about sexual violence on campus. I am grateful for her work.”—Peggy Orenstein, New York Times–bestselling author of Boys & Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity
On the Wrong Side provides the first comprehensive account of the inner workings of the secretive Title IX system. Drawing on a yearlong study of survivors, perpetrators, and the administrators who oversaw their cases, sociologist Nicole Bedera exposes the structures that predictably punish survivors who come forward in the service of protecting—or even rewarding—their perpetrators. She reveals that the system tasked with ending gender inequality on campus only intensifies it, upending survivors’ lives and threatening their degrees.
Equally heartbreaking and optimistic, On the Wrong Side makes it easy to imagine life-changing interventions for the next generation of students by proposing specific solutions to the structural problems of Title IX. Bedera proves that ending campus sexual violence is within our grasp—and dares us to be courageous enough to take action.
“Nicole Bedera is one of the most important thinkers of our time about sexual violence on campus. I am grateful for her work.”—Peggy Orenstein, New York Times–bestselling author of Boys & Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity
- GenresNonfictionSociology
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Published October 1, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 24, 2024
I read this book because my daughter was recently involved in a Title IX case at college. After reading this book I understand why she lost the case better. She was treated better and received more support from her professors than many of the victims in this book, however, it is infuriating to see how this system that was set up to protect students has been twisted in such a way that the perpetrators have more rights and benefits than the victims.
This book also highlights the closed world of a college campus. You pay upfront for your classes and, in many cases, your housing, meals, and healthcare. It is almost like the company towns of the early 1900s. Depending on how many amenities the college offers (and most to attract high-paying students have state-of-the-art dorms and gyms) and how easily accessible and safe the local community is, students may spend most of their time in the campus community.
The failure of the university to make even basic accommodations to help these women is appalling. The author tells of cases where a student abused in her living community was not offered a safer place to live. Another woman was required to perform an intimate dance with her perpetrator to complete a required class.
This is an eye-opening book that should be read by college students and their families so that they are aware of their rights if they are a victim and the hurdles they will face trying to bring a perpetrator to justice. The book also describes how victims' rights were curtailed during the first Trump administration. I fear with the number of histories of sexual misconduct in his inner circle, it will become even harder for victims to receive a fair resolution of their cases.
This book also highlights the closed world of a college campus. You pay upfront for your classes and, in many cases, your housing, meals, and healthcare. It is almost like the company towns of the early 1900s. Depending on how many amenities the college offers (and most to attract high-paying students have state-of-the-art dorms and gyms) and how easily accessible and safe the local community is, students may spend most of their time in the campus community.
The failure of the university to make even basic accommodations to help these women is appalling. The author tells of cases where a student abused in her living community was not offered a safer place to live. Another woman was required to perform an intimate dance with her perpetrator to complete a required class.
This is an eye-opening book that should be read by college students and their families so that they are aware of their rights if they are a victim and the hurdles they will face trying to bring a perpetrator to justice. The book also describes how victims' rights were curtailed during the first Trump administration. I fear with the number of histories of sexual misconduct in his inner circle, it will become even harder for victims to receive a fair resolution of their cases.
July 19, 2026
I wanted to read this to better understand why my own Title IX case played out the way it did. This was a tough read; what I went through is nowhere near what many of the women profiled in this study did, but a lot of the same patterns and roadblocks they experienced were also things I ran into.
I already knew that Title IX is set up more to protect the university than students, but it was revelatory how Title IX offices take that to mean they have to protect the perpetrator above and beyond the victim. So many administrators revealed blatant bias towards the perpetrators that it is impossible for victims to get a fair process.
Where my experience paralleled those in this book is in being pushed and pressured towards informal resolution. I was told that the formal report route is only appropriate for situations that are "reportable to the police" (which is not true btw) and was made to feel that since my case likely didn't warrant a police report, I couldn't go with the formal report option. NOT TRUE! But it made sense to me, a young woman who had never dealt with the police, never dealt with administration, and just wanted to move on from a traumatizing situation. The consequences of choosing that route are not fully explained to the victim until it's too late. For example, I wanted to ensure my perpetrator couldn't sign up for the same classes as me, and that our work schedules in the same building didn't overlap. I was told that since I went with the informal route, they couldn't do any of that. The best they could do was a mutual no-contact order. Yep, punishing me as well. If I talked about him to anybody, I'd get in trouble. I accepted it as the best that could come of it, and at least my perpetrator could no longer contact me. But I still had to walk by him EVERY DAY on my way into work, and I had to worry about having to drop classes I needed for graduation if he also signed up for them.
Bedera thoroughly explains why victims like me are shuttled into the informal process. It allows universities to say they're remedying the problem without having to impose formal sanctions, and importantly, without having to report the case in campus crime statistics. I looked through my university's Clery reports and, yeah, my case doesn't show up in the statistics.
I'm just rambling now, but this is such an important book both for survivors and for those who care about sexual violence on campus. It so thoroughly illuminates how Title IX offices are against victims at every stage, and how they convince victims (including me!) that they're doing their best and are fighting for you and really care about creating a safe campus. I'm angry, I'm sad, and I'm frustrated that I didn't fight more when it was happening to me.
I already knew that Title IX is set up more to protect the university than students, but it was revelatory how Title IX offices take that to mean they have to protect the perpetrator above and beyond the victim. So many administrators revealed blatant bias towards the perpetrators that it is impossible for victims to get a fair process.
Where my experience paralleled those in this book is in being pushed and pressured towards informal resolution. I was told that the formal report route is only appropriate for situations that are "reportable to the police" (which is not true btw) and was made to feel that since my case likely didn't warrant a police report, I couldn't go with the formal report option. NOT TRUE! But it made sense to me, a young woman who had never dealt with the police, never dealt with administration, and just wanted to move on from a traumatizing situation. The consequences of choosing that route are not fully explained to the victim until it's too late. For example, I wanted to ensure my perpetrator couldn't sign up for the same classes as me, and that our work schedules in the same building didn't overlap. I was told that since I went with the informal route, they couldn't do any of that. The best they could do was a mutual no-contact order. Yep, punishing me as well. If I talked about him to anybody, I'd get in trouble. I accepted it as the best that could come of it, and at least my perpetrator could no longer contact me. But I still had to walk by him EVERY DAY on my way into work, and I had to worry about having to drop classes I needed for graduation if he also signed up for them.
Bedera thoroughly explains why victims like me are shuttled into the informal process. It allows universities to say they're remedying the problem without having to impose formal sanctions, and importantly, without having to report the case in campus crime statistics. I looked through my university's Clery reports and, yeah, my case doesn't show up in the statistics.
I'm just rambling now, but this is such an important book both for survivors and for those who care about sexual violence on campus. It so thoroughly illuminates how Title IX offices are against victims at every stage, and how they convince victims (including me!) that they're doing their best and are fighting for you and really care about creating a safe campus. I'm angry, I'm sad, and I'm frustrated that I didn't fight more when it was happening to me.
January 10, 2025
Even as someone who is very familiar with the limitations of how campuses respond to campus sexual assault, this book shocked me with the depth of institutional betrayal that survivors experienced at universities. While I had some quibbles with the book or things I wish it covered in more depth, this is a must read for folks interested in campus sexual assault or sexual assault in general. I am already trying to thinking about how I can teach the book…
December 8, 2024
I’m a sexual assault victim advocate and case manager at a nonprofit and mostly work outside of any university systems. I’m extremely grateful to have found this book as it gave me a huge amount of valuable insight into the unique challenges of navigating the Title IX system. As a fairly seasoned advocate, I’m not often shocked by examples of institutions failing survivors but I unfortunately found myself shocked at many points throughout this book at the sheer depth of institutional failure and backwards, mental gymnastics performed by those with the power to make a difference in these systems. Even still, I noticed a lot of parallels in the way that victims are regarded in universities and the criminal justice system where survivors’ needs, safety, wellbeing, and ideas about justice are considered secondary. I greatly appreciated Nicole Bedera’s focus on institutional betrayal for that reason. Understanding and walking through institutional betrayal with survivors is a necessity for effective advocacy and for working towards creating better systems that are actually supportive. This book is an extremely important and timely contribution to the work of understanding why our current systems don’t work and building something better.
March 23, 2025
It’s all so true and all so believable. Especially the capitalisation of the hyperdramatic woman, every piece of evidence you could ever need, and a system that defines success as its own failure.
January 3, 2025
This book is excellent but also confirms what a lot of people know who work on college campuses. This is a must read for anyone in an administrative role on campus.
October 3, 2024
I devoured this book and need to figure out how to assign it to my class halfway through. It captures in ethnographic details the many shortcomings of the implementation of Title IX to campus sexual assault complains. It exposes the himpathy of the male protection racket by university officials and why victims are so re-traumatized.
April 24, 2026
Nicole Bedera’s On the Wrong Side sets out to expose serious failures in how universities handle sexual violence cases, and at its core, it presents a deeply troubling portrait of one campus system. After the book concludes, in the Methods section, the author notes that “Western University was investigated by the Department of Education for mismanaging Title IX cases and…settled multiple high-profile lawsuits with victims whose Title IX rights were violated.” That context feels crucial. It is striking that it is not foregrounded more prominently in the introduction or conclusion, because it significantly shapes how readers might interpret the book’s findings.
What Bedera documents is, at times, shocking: an environment marked by dysfunction and harm, where institutional responses appear inadequate at best and damaging at worst. However, the severity of these examples raises an important question about representativeness. The campus depicted here seems unusually troubled, and it is not entirely clear how much these findings can be generalized to Title IX systems more broadly.
There are also points where the analysis feels less convincing. The book appears to blur distinctions between supportive measures and informal resolutions—terms that have evolved over time but are still important to differentiate. More broadly, the framing of the issue can feel overly rigid. The narrative largely centers on two categories—survivors and perpetrators. While the book rightly emphasizes that false allegations are statistically rare and that complainants deserve care and respect, it gives less attention to questions of due process, which remain an essential part of any fair system. The process presented is practically guilty until proven innocent.
On the Wrong Side is undeniably powerful in highlighting institutional failures and amplifying survivor experiences. At the same time, its conclusions are limited by the scope of its case study and the way competing considerations are addressed. It underscores the need for reform—but leaves open the question of what a more balanced and effective system should look like.
What Bedera documents is, at times, shocking: an environment marked by dysfunction and harm, where institutional responses appear inadequate at best and damaging at worst. However, the severity of these examples raises an important question about representativeness. The campus depicted here seems unusually troubled, and it is not entirely clear how much these findings can be generalized to Title IX systems more broadly.
There are also points where the analysis feels less convincing. The book appears to blur distinctions between supportive measures and informal resolutions—terms that have evolved over time but are still important to differentiate. More broadly, the framing of the issue can feel overly rigid. The narrative largely centers on two categories—survivors and perpetrators. While the book rightly emphasizes that false allegations are statistically rare and that complainants deserve care and respect, it gives less attention to questions of due process, which remain an essential part of any fair system. The process presented is practically guilty until proven innocent.
On the Wrong Side is undeniably powerful in highlighting institutional failures and amplifying survivor experiences. At the same time, its conclusions are limited by the scope of its case study and the way competing considerations are addressed. It underscores the need for reform—but leaves open the question of what a more balanced and effective system should look like.
September 24, 2026
I understand leaving the university in this book private for the opportunity to investigate them, but I am a nosy person. I work closely with survivor advocacy, sexual violence prevention, and response. I know the names of the Title IX investigators at my large university. I know they mean well. I know for a fact the people at my office work so hard to keep Title IX accountable and their work up to date. I also know that it is imperfect and the administration at my university is incredibly complicit in protecting rapists, assaulters, and other sexual predators because it "looks bad" to hold their academic body accountable. I know so many people who have been impacted by sexual violence and went to Title IX and were able to see some justice, but once the case left the hands of Title IX it almost always deferred to the protection of the perpetrator.
I love my job. I see the difference it makes in so many student's lives. I trust the professional staff at my office. I hope Title IX at my school continues to better itself. I will rarely have kind words for the people in suits making decisions in regards to sexual violence response. They know nothing about the reality of what it means to be a survivor of sexual violence. I hope the university in this book reflected on their complicitness, because I am not even with Title IX or admin and I reflect on my own inactions.
Excellent read, incredibly eye-opening, and I am not surprised by a single finding in this book. It's still upsetting to see it so deeply ingrained in college culture. If you want to be a trustworthy insitiution, a place that fosters learning with accountability, stop protecting violent perpetrators. I know that means you might lose a couple administrators, but if it's any consolation, they're more likely to find another job than the survivors of their violence would.
I love my job. I see the difference it makes in so many student's lives. I trust the professional staff at my office. I hope Title IX at my school continues to better itself. I will rarely have kind words for the people in suits making decisions in regards to sexual violence response. They know nothing about the reality of what it means to be a survivor of sexual violence. I hope the university in this book reflected on their complicitness, because I am not even with Title IX or admin and I reflect on my own inactions.
Excellent read, incredibly eye-opening, and I am not surprised by a single finding in this book. It's still upsetting to see it so deeply ingrained in college culture. If you want to be a trustworthy insitiution, a place that fosters learning with accountability, stop protecting violent perpetrators. I know that means you might lose a couple administrators, but if it's any consolation, they're more likely to find another job than the survivors of their violence would.
September 30, 2026
A book focused on sexual violence on college campuses should make you uncomfortable and upset, and most importantly should make you want to tear these institutions down that side with perpetrators of rape over victims so the women of the future don’t have to go through the complete violation of their autonomy by anyone. On The Wrong Side by Nicole Bedera does all of that and more, and I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who wants to better understand how universities protect perpetrators and harm victims. In light of the Cornell 7 case, I strongly urge everyone to read this and I urge people to get more angry. This book does an excellent job of articulating the injustices of the Title IX system, as well as how the role of educational institutions, through protecting perpetrators, fosters and reinforces the oppression of women in greater society. Truly a moving book.
February 22, 2025
Hard to read (due to the content). SO IMPORTANT to read (due to the content).
June 27, 2025
Thorough examination of Western University’s Title IX system, and covers institutional betrayal
Read
September 2, 2025A phenomenal reflection and critique of the Title IX process in the typical college campus. A must read for anyone and everyone, but especially folks who work in higher education.
May 23, 2025
A great sociological study into a title 9 office on an unnamed campus. Important work that showcases how victims are victimized not just by their attacker but also the system itself. Would recommend this book to anyone studying women studies
(I also requested my local library to purchase this book so I could read it. To those who want to read it, I would recommend doing the same)
(I also requested my local library to purchase this book so I could read it. To those who want to read it, I would recommend doing the same)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews