Do Any Federal Laws Address Hazing?

College students looking up federal hazing laws in the library.

In December 2024, President Biden signed the Stop Campus Hazing Act into law. This federal law specifically addressing hazing assigns a formal, national definition to the practice and requires that collegiate institutions disclose accurate hazing statistics to their students. The Act also requires colleges to implement hazing policies designed to prevent student abuse.

Additionally, each state has the right to implement its own hazing laws. Forty-four of the 50 states have made hazing illegal and assigned different penalties to the practice. Those offenses range from misdemeanors to felonies and can account for any additional crimes that may compound a hazer’s charges.

You can work with an experienced Ohio hazing lawyer to break down hazing laws in the wake of subtle hazing, violent hazing, and harassment. Our team will stand with you in court and fight to hold hazers accountable for violating Collin’s Law, alongside relevant federal laws, and exposing you to unnecessary and avoidable dangers.

What Is the Stop Campus Hazing Act?

When the Stop Campus Hazing Act became law, it established that:

Hazing has a definitive federal definition encompassing the coercion of young people to engage in unsafe activities for the sake of joining a larger group
Colleges and universities are now required to track and report hazing incidents
Colleges and universities now must take steps to prevent hazing, regardless of state laws regarding the practice
Colleges and universities must promote hazing awareness programs
Each institution needs to complete a Campus Hazing Transparency Report, the first numbers from which will be available in 2026

The reports schools are now required to file through the Campus Hazing Transparency Report must go into detail about the names of student organizations that have violated hazing laws, general descriptions of those violations, and dates on which those violations occurred. Schools must publish these findings in an accessible location on their websites.

This multi-prong approach to anti-hazing laws should increase awareness about the continued dangers of hazing and make it harder for schools to ignore incidents of hazing on their grounds.

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Where Is Hazing Illegal?

While the Stop Campus Hazing Act is a federal law specifically addressing hazing, many states have laws establishing hazing as a crime. Of the 44 states that make hazing illegal, 33 will charge instigators with misdemeanors, while 10 explicitly mark hazing as a felony.

The only states without hazing laws are:

Alaska
Hawaii
New Mexico
Wyoming
South Dakota
Montana

Fortunately, the Stop Campus Hazing Act allows students in unprotected states to benefit from the right to recourse should they undergo a hazing ritual.

How to Identify Hazing

The federal laws specifically addressing hazing offer a broad definition of the practice. The most common types of hazing include:

Subtle hazing, or attempts to socially isolate a student, deceive a student, or engage in derogatory nicknaming or other forms of dehumanizing communication.
Violent hazing, including the coerced consumption of alcohol or drugs, non-consensual humiliating behavior, and/or required participation in dangerous activities. Branding and forced public nudity also constitute violent hazing.
Harassment hazing, which includes forced confinement, sleep deprivation, exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures, and/or prolonged instances of verbal abuse.

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When to Contact an Ohio Hazing Lawyer

If you suspect that you or someone you care about are a victim of hazing, contact an experienced hazing lawyer in Ohio. Early conversations with a lawyer can highlight the unacceptable nature of your mistreatment as well as your right to civil action.

Our team can even encourage you to get in touch with the police to open a criminal investigation into your mistreatment.

Working with an Ohio hazing lawyer allows you to demand compensation for your mistreatment. In the meantime, police officers can arrest the people who’ve violated Ohio’s anti-hazing laws so they face criminal consequences for their misconduct. Both processes allow you to get the justice you deserve for the wrongs you faced.

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What to Know About Collin’s Law in Ohio

While federal laws address hazing, Ohio students specifically benefit from Collin’s Law, which was enacted after Ohio student Collin Wiant suffered fatal alcohol poisoning during a hazing ritual.

Today, anyone who forces someone to engage in a hazing ritual or oversees such a ritual may face increased penalties, including jail time.

Likewise, all Ohio schools are required to report hazing incidents to police officers and to host educational opportunities for students, staff, and faculty to learn about the dangers of hazing. The associations affiliated with Ohio universities may also take on liability for their members’ behavior in the wake of a hazing incident.

You Don’t Have to Worry About Legal Fees

Are you struggling with the aftermath of a violent hazing ritual? Do you want to help a friend hold abusers accountable for their unchecked misconduct?

You can turn to our hazing lawyers in Ohio without putting a dime down. Our team works on contingency, meaning that we only get paid once we win our clients a settlement.

We can discuss how our contingency fee policies work in greater detail during your hazing case consultation. Scheduling a consultation won’t lock you into legal action. Instead, you can discuss your circumstances with an experienced legal professional before deciding how you want to proceed.

Our Ohio Hazing Lawyers Won’t Let Injustice Go Unanswered

Our team of hazing lawyers in Ohio went to considerable lengths to ensure that Collin’s Law passed. We believe that hazing actively endangers and traumatizes everyone who participates in it, and we want it eradicated.

If you need help breaking down the state laws most relevant to your recovery, turn to our lawyers for legal support. We can break down the federal laws specifically addressing hazing, including the Stop Campus Hazing Act, and determine how these and state laws can help you get the justice you deserve.

Book your free hazing case consultation today.

Call or text 614-481-6000 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form

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Are There Any Federal Laws Specifically Addressing Hazing?