Sexual assault, exploitation, and harassment

Any attempted or actual sexual act directed against another person, without the affirmative consent of the person, including instances where the person is incapable of giving consent. 

  • Behaviors can include:
    • Vaginal or anal penetration and contact, no matter how slight, with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person. 
    • Touching of private body parts (buttocks, genitals, breasts).
    • Nonconsensual recording of sexual activity, invasion of sexual privacy, or distributing photographs of another person's intimate parts.
    • Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is so severe, pervasive, and/or objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the university's education programs or activities.

  • An instructor suggests that a higher grade might be given to a student if they submit to sexual advances.
  • A supervisor implicitly or explicitly implies that a subordinate will be fired if they don’t submit to sexual favors.
  • A student repeatedly follows an instructor around campus and sends sexually explicit text messages, emails, or voicemails.
  • Students in a residence hall repeatedly draw sexually explicit graffiti on the whiteboard of another student’s door.

Dating and domestic violence

Any act of violence or threatened act of violence against a person with whom the individual is or has been involved in a romantic or intimate relationship (dating, cohabitating, married, partnered, or co-parenting). This can include threats, assault, property damage, and violence or threats of violence to harm themselves or others including family members, friends, or pets of the partner.

Read more about healthy, unhealthy, and abuse in a relationship. Also visit Love Is Respect to learn more.

Stalking

A course of conduct directed at someone that would cause them to fear for their own safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress. This conduct can include repeatedly following, approaching, contacting, watching, or making any form of communication with a person directly or through indirect contact (i.e. friends, family, electronically, social media, etc.).