Page 57 - Demo

3. Statutory Sexual Assault – The age of consent for sexual activity in Pennsylvania is 16. Minors under the age of 13 cannot consent to sexual activity. Minors aged 13-15 years old cannot consent to sexual activity with anyone who is 4 or more years older than they are at the time of the activity. Minors aged 16 years of age or older can legally consent to sexual
activity with anyone they choose, as long as the other person does not have authority over them as defined in Pennsylvania’s institutional sexual assault statute.
Sexual Exploitation – Taking sexual advantage of another person or violating the sexual privacy of another when consent is not present. This includes, but is not limited to, the following actions (including when they are done via electronic means, methods or devices):
1. Sexual voyeurism or permitting others to witness or observe the sexual or intimate activity of another person without that person’s consent;
2. Indecent exposure or inducing others to expose themselves when consent is not present;
3. Recording or distributing information, images or recordings of any person engaged in sexual or intimate activity in a private space without that person’s consent.
4. Prostituting another individual;
5. Knowingly exposing another individual to a sexually transmitted disease or virus without that individual’s knowledge; and
6. Inducing incapacitation for the purpose of making another person vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity.
Sexual Harassment – Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature where either or both of the following are present:
1. Quid pro quo: Submission to or rejection of such conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of a person’s employment or education, including participation in any Douglas Education Center program and/or activity; or
2. Hostile Environment: Such conduct is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with, limits, or deprives an individual from participating in or benefitting from Douglas Education Center’s education or employment programs and/or activities. The existence of a hostile environment is to be judged both objectively (meaning a reasonable
person would find the environment hostile) and subjectively (meaning the impacted individual felt the environment was hostile).
A single, isolated incident of sexual harassment alone may create a hostile environment if the incident is sufficiently severe. The more severe the conduct, the less need there is to show a repetitive series of incidents to create a hostile environment, particularly if the harassment is physical.
Stalking – Engaging in a course of conduct or repeatedly communicating and/or committing acts toward another person under circumstances that demonstrate or communicate an intent:
1. to place the other person in reasonable fear of bodily injury; or 2. to cause substantial emotional distress to the other person.
A course of conduct is when a person engages in two or more acts that include, but are not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveys, threatens, or communicates to or about a person in a prohibited way, or interferes with a person’s property.
Stalking includes the concept of cyberstalking, in which electronic media such as the Internet, social networks, blogs, cell phones, texts, or other similar devices or forms of contact are used to pursue, harass, or to make unwelcome contact with another person in an unsolicited fashion.
Retaliation – Any action, directly or through others, which is aimed to deter a reasonable person from reporting sexual misconduct or participating in an investigation or hearing or action that is done in response to such activities. A finding of retaliation under this policy is not dependent on a finding that the underlying sexual misconduct occurred.
III. Policy
A. Title IX, VAWA and Nondiscrimination Statement
Douglas Education Center prohibits any form of discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex, race, color, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital or family status, medical condition, genetic information, veteran status, or disability in any decision regarding admissions, employment, or participation in a Douglas Education Center program or activity in accordance with the letter and spirit of federal, state, and local non- discrimination and equal opportunity laws, such as Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education
Page 57 of 88 Catalog Volume 62 -Version 3 Effective June 5, 2020