Definitions
The Office for Institutional Equity administers equitable policies, procedures, and response to incidents of sexual misconduct, bias and discrimination. Understanding the following key terms and concepts is crucial for ensuring compliance and fostering a safe, respectful, and equitable educational environment for all Mines students and employees.
If you have questions about these definitions, training or reporting, please contact our office.
Sexual Harassment Definitions
Mines posts definitions of conduct (as defined in the Clery Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1092(f), and the Violence Against Women Act, 34 U.S.C. § 12291(a) that constitute sexual harassment in compliance with the 2020 Final Rule of Title IX.
Sexual Assault
- Forcible Rape The carnal knowledge of a person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will or not forcible or against the person’s will in instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity
- Forcible Sodomy Oral or anal sexual intercourse with another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will or not forcibly or against person’s will in instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
- Sexual Assault with an Object: To use an object or instrument to unlawfully penetrate, however slightly, the genital or anal opening of the body of another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will or not forcibly or against the person’s will (in instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
- Forcible Fondling: The touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, forcibly and/or against that person’s will or not forcibly or against the person’s will in instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her youth or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
- Incest: Nonforcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
- Statutory Rape: Nonforcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.
VAWA Definitions
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is aimed at combating domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and other forms of violence against women and girls. The 2020 amendments refer to the following definitions of dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking in VAWA.
Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by: a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the complainant, a person with whom the complainant shares a child, a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the complainant as a spouse or intimate partner, a person similarly situated to a spouse of the complainant under the jurisdiction’s domestic or family violence laws, or any other person against a complainant who is protected under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction.
Dating Violence
Dating Violence includes violence committed by a person who has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the complainant; the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
Stalking
Stalking is defined as engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own safety or the safety of others or to suffer substantial emotional distress; including stalking that occurs online or through messaging platforms, commonly known as cyber stalking.