Help a DV Survivor Get Justice from OSU

When I reported experiencing intimate partner violence to The Ohio State University, my then-employer and alma mater that I had called home for six years, they responded by ruining my life. Because I had used self-defense to try to escape my abusive partner and was upfront about it, the Title IX office opened an investigation into my conduct instead, didn't save the video evidence I sent them displaying his history of kidnapping me, and fired me. Ohio State officials explained in a recorded conversation that despite offering self-defense classes for women, they have an internal policy that any use of self-defense (even if provable and reasonable) renders an OSU student/employee equally guilty.

That's still only a small part of the story, and https://www.thecaseforselfdefense.com contains a lot more drama and evidence for everything. The Ohio State University’s actions in response to my report broke so many laws so blatantly, that both the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission have opened investigations over it.

I need help recovering financially from the years of retaliation OSU put me through. Even after firing me, they opened a second investigation going after my degree (which would permanently destroy my career in academic research). Because the stakes were so high, even though I had almost no savings to my name, I was forced to hire a law firm to advise me through the process and to repeatedly attempt to negotiate with OSU. Attorneys cost hundreds of dollars per hour, and some of the ones I worked with were harsher in their billing practices than others.

The financial goal that I've set for this GoFundMe doesn't even encompass everything I've lost in legal fees and lost wages, because I feel kinda guilty asking the public to pay for what OSU ultimately owes me.

But until I can demand it from them in court, I really do need help paying these debts off. Having a little breathing room is especially urgent given the likelihood of my abuser filing a spurious defamation lawsuit against me now that I've gone public.

Even though the current investigations into OSU will almost certainly result in findings against them, there are limitations to the remedies that these agencies can enforce and how fast they can do so (the OCR is backlogged by years). That's why I'm currently planning to switch gears and pursue this case in federal court. In addition to getting personal justice from OSU, there is a serious opportunity here to set legal precedents that solidify anti-retaliation protections for victims of gender-based violence at other schools as well. OSU made a mistake by dragging out their retaliation over years and giving me trust issues at the start, because I've recorded far more evidence of far more legal violations than the average Title IX plaintiff. If we sue, we'll win, but even lawyers willing to work on contingency often require initial financial investment.

So TLDR: I need help recovering + suing OSU to protect other DV survivors

Even if you don't have any tips to spare, sharing this fundraiser and/or https://thecaseforselfdefense.com would mean a lot. There are links to already-shareable social media posts in the "Take Action" tab.

Thanks for reading this far, and (pejoratively) Go Bucks!

[*Disclaimer (for lawsuit reasons):

Neither this GoFundMe page nor the website it links to are exhaustive and final lists of all potentially relevant events or actions by any party mentioned herein, nor all evidence, damages, or potential causes of action for investigation or litigation. The total economic/non-economic past and future damages incurred by Ms. Boardman and owed by OSU are much higher than the amount requested from the public here.]