Title ix definitions
University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis has defined the following terms to ensure consistency in policies, handbooks and codes.
Sexual Harassment and Prohibited Conduct
The term sexual harassment includes any or all of the following defined terms: quid pro quo harassment, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.
Quid Pro Quo
An employee conditioning any aid, benefit, or service on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
Hostile Environment
Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to any College education program or activity.
Sexual Assault
The term sexual assault means any nonconsensual sexual act causing or attempting to cause another to engage involuntarily in any sexual act by force, threat of force, or duress.
Dating Violence
Dating violence is defined as violence by a person who has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. Whether a relationship exists will be determined based on the consideration of the length, type and frequency of interaction.
Domestic Violence
The term domestic violence includes abusive behavior committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse or intimate partner, by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of Missouri, or by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of Missouri.
Stalking
The term 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, the safety of others, or suffer substantial emotional distress.
Retaliation
It is a violation of the University’s policies to intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against any person for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege established under the University’s policies or because the person has made a report or complaint, testified, assisted, or participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing.
A report of retaliation will be subject to the same grievance procedures for handling reports of sexual harassment.
The University may take disciplinary action whenever a person makes a materially false statement in bad faith in connection with the University’s policies, provided a determination that a party is or is not responsible is insufficient, standing alone, to conclude that a party acted in bad faith.
Consent
- Sexual contact without consent is a violation of the University’s policies, and a crime.
- Consent or lack of consent to engage in sexual activity may be express or implied.
- Each participant is expected to obtain and give consent to each sexual activity and each sexual encounter.
- Consent may be withdrawn at any time.
- Silence or absence of resistance does not imply consent.
- An individual who is physically incapacitated from alcohol and/or other drug consumption (voluntarily or involuntarily), or is unconscious, unaware, or otherwise physically helpless is considered unable to give consent.
- Consent cannot be forced or coerced through duress or deception.
- Consent cannot be obtained from a person who lacks the mental capacity to authorize the sexual conduct when such mental incapacity is known.
- Consent cannot be obtained from a person who is a minor (under 18 years of age).
- Consent cannot be inferred from an individual’s attire, physical appearance, or participation in non-sexual social activity (social media, dating, dancing).
- An individual forced or coerced to participate cannot provide consent.