Trump official apologises for suggesting 90% of campus rape accusations are spurious

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is meeting with survivors of sexual violence as she considers changing how universities should handle the issue

Candice Jackson, the Department of Education’s civil rights chief (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Candice Jackson, the US Department of Education’s civil rights chief, has apologised directly to sexual assault survivors for her “flippant” remark that “90 percent” of campus sexual assault accusations develop out of drunken sex or break ups.

Ms Jackson and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos are meeting with survivors of sexual violence and those who say they have been falsely accused as the department considers whether to change Obama-era guidance on how colleges and universities should handle the issue.

Ms Jackson told The New York Times on Wednesday that in most investigations there is “not even an accusation that these accused students overrode the will of a young woman.”

“Rather, the accusations — 90 percent of them — fall into the category of ‘we were both drunk,’ ‘we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right,’” she said.

In a statement to NBC News on Thursday, Ms Jackson said,“What I said was flippant, and I am sorry. All sexual harassment and sexual assault must be taken seriously — which has always been my position and will always be the position of this department.”

“As a survivor of rape myself, I would never seek to diminish anyone’s experience,” she added. “My words in The New York Times poorly characterised the conversations I’ve had with countless groups of advocates.”

The Education Department confirmed to Politico that Ms Jackson offered the apology to survivors in person.

On Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi slammed Ms Jackson’s comments to the newspaper as “outrageous.”

“I know there’s an apology but that doesn’t erase what is inside that spewed forth yesterday,” Ms Pelosi said at a press conference on Thursday convened by a group of female Democratic legislators who accused Mr Trump and Ms DeVos of seeking to dismantle Title IX protections.

Title IX is a section of the Educational Amendments of 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programmes and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

The Obama administration had increased Title IX enforcement and schools’ obligations to respond to campus sexual assault.

Ms DeVos has been criticised for saying during her January confirmation hearing that it would be “premature” for her to commit to upholding the previous administration’s Title IX guidance on campus sexual assault. She is currently reviewing the impact of the Obama-era enforcement of Title IX through a series of listening sessions on campus sexual violence.

“The Secretary and senior Department officials have been engaged in ongoing discussions with students, parents, schools, advocacy groups and experts to learn about their experiences and hear their views of how the Department can best fulfill its obligations to protect students under Title IX,” the Education Department said in a press release on its website.