Sexual harassment is defined under SCAS’s policy against sexual harassment as:

Sexual harassment, whether between people of different sexes or the same sex, is defined to include, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexual violence and other behavior of a sexual nature when:

  • submission to such conduct is made implicitly or explicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or participation in an educational program;
  • submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for personnel decisions or for academic evaluation or advancement; or
  • such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive working or educational environment.

 

Examples of conduct that may, depending on the facts and circumstances, constitute sexual harassment include, but are not limited to:

  • making comments about someone’s appearance in a sexually suggestive way
  • staring at someone or making obscene gestures or noises
  • repeatedly asking someone on a date
  • stalking (including cyber stalking)
  • “flashing” or exposing body parts
  • spreading sexual rumors
  • rating peers or colleagues with respect to sexual performance
  • non-consensual observation, photographing, or recording of sexual activity or nudity
  • non-consensual distribution or dissemination of photographs or recordings of sexual activity or nudity, including distribution or dissemination of photographs or recordings that were made consensually
  • allowing a third party to observe sexual activity without the consent of all parties
  • prostituting or trafficking another person

Sexual violence is a form of sexual harassment. Sexual violence includes physical sexual acts that are performed against a person’s will or where a person cannot give consent. A person may be unable to give consent to a sexual act for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to: if he or she is physically or psychologically pressured, forced, threatened, intimidated, unconscious, drunk, or drugged; due an intellectual or other disability or health condition; or by operation of laws governing the age of consent. Physical resistance need not occur to fulfill the definition of sexual violence. Examples of sexual violence include, but are not limited to:

  • Sexual intercourse or other sexual acts that one party says “no” to
  • Rape (including “date rape”) or attempted rape
  • Someone touching, fondling, kissing, or making any unwanted contact with your body
  • Someone forcing you to perform oral sex or forcing you to receive oral sex
  • Sexual assault, sexual battery, or sexual coercion

Sexual activity of any kind requires “consent,” which consists of the following:

  • Consent means clear and voluntary agreement between participants to engage in the specific act.
  • Consent requires a clear “yes,” verbal or otherwise; it cannot be inferred from the absence of a “no.”
  • Consent cannot be obtained from someone who is unconscious, asleep, physically helpless, or incapacitated (including, but not limited to, mentally incapacitated). A person is incapacitated when she or he is unable to make a rational decision because the person lacks the ability to understand his or her decision. A person who is incapacitated is unable to consent to sexual activity. A person can become incapacitated as a result of physical or mental disability, involuntary physical constraint, being asleep or unconscious, or consumption of alcohol or other drugs. A person can consume alcohol and/or drugs without becoming incapacitated.
  • Consent cannot be obtained by pressure, threats, coercion or force of any kind, whether mental or physical. Consent means actually agreeing to the specific sexual activity, rather than merely submitting as a result of pressure, threats, coercion or force of any kind, whether mental or physical.
  • Consent cannot be obtained from an individual who is under the legal age of consent.
  • Consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual encounter and can be revoked at any time.
  • Consent to some sexual acts does not necessarily imply consent to others.
  • Past consent does not necessarily imply ongoing or future consent.
  • Consent to some sexual acts does not necessarily imply consent to others. Past consent does not necessarily imply ongoing or future consent.

The term “dating violence” means violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of: the length of the relationship; the type of relationship; and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship. Dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse, but excludes acts covered under domestic violence.

Stalking is conduct directed at a person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for her, his or others’ bodily harm, including: assault, rape, false imprisonment or death. Stalking may occur through face-to face contact, voyeurism, electronic communications (a/k/a “cyberstalking”).

 

Legal definition: malicious course of conduct that includes approaching or pursuing another where the person intends to place or knows or reasonably should have known the conduct would place another in reasonable fear:

  • of serious bodily injury;
  • of an assault in any degree;
  • of rape or sexual offense
  • of false imprisonment; or
  • of death; or
  • that a third person likely will suffer any of the acts listed in this subsection.

SCAS’s policies against discrimination, including the SCAS Policy Against Sexual Harassment and SCAS Sexual Violence Policy strictly prohibit retaliation against individuals who file complaints, who are witnesses in an investigation or oppose discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence. In general, retaliation includes actions that would have dissuaded a reasonable person from complaining or participating in an investigation. Examples may include, but are not limited to:

  • Badmouthing and/or harassing a complainant in response to her/him filing a complaint
  • Refusing to speak to a witness because she/he has participated in an investigation
  • Failure to provide a recommendation to a complainant or a witness (when prior to the complaint/investigation one would have been provided)
  • Removal from a student group because that student has complained or participated in an investigation