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This policy applies to all students of Rowan University from the time of their acceptance and admission into the University until the date of their graduation. Regardless of where the prohibited conduct occurs, this Policy applies if the Respondent (the accused party) is a student of Rowan University. This Policy also applies to all prohibited conduct that occurs on University property (i.e., on campus) by visitors. Complaints against Rowan employees and vendors will be handled under the Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace. Questions or concerns related to employees should be directed to Rowan University’s Title IX Coordinator.
IV. TITLE IX
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in the University's programs and activities. It reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” As a recipient of Federal financial assistance, Rowan University has jurisdiction over complaints alleging sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and sexual violence.
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- Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse or Penetration (Rape) means the penetration, no matter how slight of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person without consent. Sexual Intercourse includes (a) vaginal penetration by a penis, object, tongue, or finger; (b) anal penetration by a penis, object, tongue, or finger; and (c) any contact, no matter how slight, between the mouth of one person and the genitalia of another person.
- Non-Consensual Sexual Contact (Fondling) means any intentional sexual touching, however slight, with any body part or any object, without consent. Examples of non-consensual sexual contact may include: genital-genital or oral-genital contact not involving penetration; contact with breasts, buttocks, or genital area, including over clothing; removing the clothing of another person; and kissing.
- Sexual Exploitation – behavior that takes, or facilitates the taking of, non-consensual sexual advantage of any person to benefit any other person when the behavior does not otherwise constitute a sexual misconduct violation. Examples of sexual exploitation include but are not limited to:
- Prostituting another person.
- Taking a non-consensual video, photograph, or audio-recording of sexual activity without the other’s permission; taking a photograph or video of someone’s private parts (including genitals, groin, buttocks, or breasts) without permission; the transmission or dissemination (including, but not limited to, distribution via social media) of such a video, photograph or audio-recording without permission.
- Allowing third parties to observe private sexual activity from a hidden location (e.g., closet) or through electronic means (e.g., Skype or live-streaming of images);.
- Voyeurism or spying on on persons where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
- Knowingly transmitting a sexually transmitted infection to another person without the other’s knowledge.
- Intimate Partner Violence includes dating and domestic violence.
- Domestic violence means a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed:
- By a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the student,
- By a person with whom the student shares a child in common,
- By a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the student as a spouse or intimate partner,
- By any other person against an adult or youth student who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.
- 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 student.
- The existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: 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.
- Domestic violence means a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed:
- Stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: fear for his or her safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress.
- Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person's property.
- Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the reporting student.
- Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.
- Other Sexual Misconduct – inappropriate sexual behaviors not covered previously in this section. Examples include but are not limited to sexual activity in public places.
- Sexual/Gender-Based Harassment
- Sexual/gender-based harassment is unwelcome sexual or gender based verbal or physical conduct that unreasonably interferes with or deprives others of their right to access and benefit from the programs and services of the University. Sexual harassment offenses fall into two general categories.
- Hostile Environment- harassing conduct that is sufficiently severe, pervasive/persistent and objectively offensive that it substantially interferes with the conditions of education or employment, from both a subjective (the student’s) and an objective (reasonable person’s) viewpoint. The determination of whether an environment is “hostile” will be based on all of the circumstances. These circumstances could include but are not limited to:
- the frequency of the conduct
- the nature and severity of the conduct;
- whether the conduct was physically threatening;
- whether the conduct was humiliating;
- whether the conduct was directed at a specific individual or more than one person;
- whether the conduct arose in the context of other discriminatory conduct;
- whether the conduct unreasonably interfered with the alleged Complainant's educational or work performance;
- whether the statement is an utterance of an epithet which offends an employee or student, or offends by discourtesy or rudeness; or
- whether the speech or conduct is excluded from the protections of free speech or academic freedom.
- Quid-pro-Quo - A violation of this type exists when there are:
- unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature; and
- submission to or rejection of such conduct results in adverse educational access or employment action
- Retaliation: Any harassment or adverse action taken against a person because of that person’s participation in a complaint or investigation of sexual misconduct will be treated as a separate violation of this policy and will result in immediate action by the University to stop the retaliatory behavior, prevent further violations by the perpetrator, and remedy any adverse impact of the violation.
- False Reports: Intentionally making a report of prohibited conduct to a University official knowing, at the time the report was made, that the prohibited conduct did not occur and the report was false.
- Attempted Violations: A person commits an attempted violation, when, with intent to commit a specific violation, he does any act which constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of that violation. The University will treat attempts to commit any of the violations described in this policy as if those attempts had been completed.
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Consent
Consent to sexual activity is informed, knowing, voluntarily and freely given permission to engage in mutually agreed upon sexual activity. The University will apply a reasonable person standard in determining whether or not consent was given, unless otherwise required by law.
The person giving consent must be capable of doing so freely, with the ability to understand what they are doing and the specific details (who, what, when, where, and how) of the sexual contact they are consenting to.
Consent may be given by words or actions, as long as those words or actions create mutually understandable permission regarding the conditions of sexual activity.
It is the obligation of the person initiating sexual contact to obtain clear consent for the specific type of sexual contact sought.
Lack of protest does not constitute consent. Silence or passivity without words or actions that communicate mutually understandable permission cannot be assumed to convey consent.
Use of violence, threats, coercion or intimidation invalidates any consent given.
Consent for one form of sexual contact does not imply consent to other forms. For example: consent to vaginal sex does not imply consent to oral sex; consent to vaginal sex does not imply consent to anal sex.
Past consent does not constitute consent for future sexual activity.
Persons who are unable to give valid consent under New Jersey law, (i.e. minors, individuals with mental health disabilities) are considered unable to give consent under NJ State Policy N.J.S.A.2C:4-2.
Consent cannot be given by a person who is unconscious or sleeping. If consent has been given while a person is conscious or awake, and then that person becomes unconscious or falls asleep, consent terminates at that point.
Persons who are incapacitated due to the use of drugs or alcohol cannot give consent.
Consent to bodily harm. When conduct constitutes a violation of this policy because it causes or threatens bodily harm, consent to such conduct or to the infliction of such harm is a defense if: (1) the bodily harm consented to or threatened by the conduct is not serious, or (2) the conduct and the harm are reasonably foreseeable hazards of joint participation in a concerted activity of a kind not forbidden by law.
Incapacitation
- Incapacitation is the physical and/or mental inability to make informed, rational judgements and decisions. States of incapacitation include sleep, unconsciousness, and blackouts. Where alcohol or drugs are involved, incapacitation is determined by how the substance impacts a person’s decision-making capacity, awareness of consequences, and ability to make informed judgements.
- In evaluating whether a person was incapacitated for purposes of evaluating effective consent, the University considers two questions:
- Did the person initiating sexual activity know that their partner was incapacitated? And if not,
- Should a sober, reasonable person in the same situation have known that their partner was incapacitated?
- If the answer to either of these questions is “yes,” effective consent was absent.
- For purposes of this policy, incapacitation is a state beyond drunkenness or intoxication. A person is not incapacitated merely because they have been drinking or using drugs. The standard for incapacitation does not turn on technical or medical definitions, but instead focuses on whether a person has the physical and/or mental ability to make informed, rational judgments and decisions.
- A person who initiates sexual activity must look for the common and obvious warning signs that show that a person may be incapacitated or approaching incapacitation. Although every individual may manifest signs of incapacitation differently, typical signs include slurred or incomprehensible speech, unsteady gait, combativeness, emotional volatility, vomiting, or incontinence. A person who is incapacitated may not be able to understand some or all of the following questions: “Do you know where you are?”, “Do you know how you got here?”, “Do you know what is happening?”, “Do you know whom you are with?”
- Because the impact of alcohol and other drugs varies from person to person, one should be cautious before engaging in sexual contact or intercourse when either party has been drinking alcohol or using other drugs. The introduction of alcohol or other drugs may create ambiguity for either party as to whether effective consent has been sought or given. If one has doubt about either party’s level of intoxication, the safe thing to do is to forgo all sexual activity.
IX. REPORTING OPTIONS
Students who experience sexual misconduct and those who have knowledge of sexual misconduct or harassment are strongly encouraged to report this information as soon as possible. Prompt reporting of incidents greatly improves the ability of the University and law enforcement to provide support resources to students and to address the violations effectively. Although there is no time limit for reporting sexual harassment or misconduct offences, delays in reporting may reduce the ability of the University and law enforcement to investigate and respond to incidents. After an incident of sexual assault and domestic violence, the student should consider seeking medical attention as soon as possible. In New Jersey, evidence may be collected even if you chose not to make a report to law enforcement.
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