This policy sets forth conduct expectations for our community and provides a process for the reporting, investigation and adjudication of alleged violations. This policy applies to alleged conduct violative of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (i.e., “Title IX Category” violations) and also applies to a broader range of contexts and behaviors inconsistent with Munson’s commitment to equal opportunity (i.e., “Munson Category” violations).
The designation of conduct or allegations as either “Title IX Category” or “Munson Category” is not a function of the seriousness of the alleged conduct but rather a function of the scope and coverage of Title IX versus Munson’s broader jurisdiction to prohibit and discipline a larger scope of inappropriate behavior.
A. Title IX Category Violations
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 provides: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In accordance with Title IX as interpreted by the Department of Education, Munson recognizes the following as conduct violations within the meaning of Title IX, provided that the context and circumstances of the conduct fall within the scope of Title IX, including but not limited to that the complainant was in the United States at the time of the alleged conduct, that the complainant be participating in or seeking to participate in Munson’s education program or activity at the time of the complaint, and that the conduct have occurred in the context of Munson’s education program or activity:
Sexual harassment. “Sexual harassment” means conduct on the basis of sex (including sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and transgender status) that satisfies one or more of the following:
a. An employee of Munson conditioning the provision of an aid, benefit, or service of Munson on an individual's participation in unwelcome sexual conduct (commonly referred to as a "quid pro quo");
b. Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that is effectively denies a person equal access to Munson’s education programs or activities (commonly referred to as a sexually or gender-based “hostile environment”).
Sexual assault. “Sexual assault” is a sexual act directed against another person, without consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent. Sexual assault consists of the following specific acts:
- Rape. 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 the consent of the victim. This offense includes the rape of any person and regardless of gender or gender identity.
- Nonconsensual Sexual Contact. The intentional touching of the body parts, whether contact is under clothing or over clothing, of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, sexual degradation or sexual humiliation, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity. Non-consensual sexual contact also includes the forced touching by the victim of the actor’s clothed or unclothed body parts, without consent of the victim for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation.
- Incest. Non-forcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
- Statutory Rape. Non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. The statutory age of consent in New York is 17.
Dating violence. “Dating violence’’ means violence committed by a person on the basis of sex: (1) who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and (2) where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: (i) The length of the relationship. (ii) The type of relationship. (iii) The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
Domestic violence. “Domestic violence” means violence on the basis of sex 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 the jurisdiction where Munson is located, 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 the jurisdiction.
Stalking. “Stalking” is engaging in a course of conduct on the basis of sex directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: (1) fear for his or her safety or the safety of others; or (2) suffer substantial emotional distress. Stalking that does not occur on the basis of sex may be addressed under as a Munson Category Violation as described below.
B. Munson Category Violations
Munson prohibits the following behavior. For purpose of Munson Category violations, the below conduct is prohibited even if the conduct occurs off-campus, outside the United States, the Complainant is not participating or seeking to participate in Munson’s education programs or activities, or otherwise in circumstances over which Munson does not have influence or control, including but not limited to during academic breaks. Munson retains discretion to not respond to, investigate or adjudicate circumstances in which no Munson interest is implicated.
“Sexual Harassment” means unwelcome conduct, based on sex or on gender stereotypes that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile or offensive. Sexual harassment may include, for example, repeatedly subjecting a person to unwelcome sexual attention or sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, exposing a person to unwanted sexually graphic conversation and/or pictures that do not serve an academic purpose, punishing a refusal to comply with a sexual based request, conditioning an academic or educational benefit on submitting to sexual advances, engaging in inappropriate or unnecessary touching or rubbing against another, making sexually suggestive or degrading jokes or comments. A “hostile environment” is created when the offensive behavior reaches a level of severity or pervasiveness such that it interferes with an individual’s ability to participate in Munson’s programs (i.e., to work and to learn) when judged against a reasonable person standard. However, Munson encourages individuals experiencing or witnessing sexually offensive behavior to make a report as early as possible so as to have the situation corrected before it reaches the level of a hostile environment. Individuals with a concern need not worry about whether the behavior is sufficiently serious to constitute a hostile environment. Munson may, and in the appropriate circumstances will, take action to respond to offensive behavior even if the behavior does not rise to the level of a hostile environment within the meaning of the law.
Munson also prohibits “quid pro quo” sexual harassment, which means “this for that” harassment. It is a violation of this policy for any person to condition any benefit on submission to sexual activity. No person should believe that any other person – regardless of their position of authority – has a right to require sexual activity in exchange for any benefit or advantage.
A determination of whether sexual harassment has occurred depends on the totality of the circumstances, including the seriousness or severity of the incident, whether the conduct was an isolated incident or repeated, whether it was threatening or merely annoying, the relationship of the individuals involved in the communication or incident, the context in which the incident or interaction occurred, and the intent of the individual who engaged in the allegedly offensive conduct, and its effect or impact on the individual and the community.
“Sexual Assault” is defined by Munson as including:
“Non-consensual sexual intercourse.” Sexual assault of this type can include the following:
- Rape: penetration, however slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without affirmative consent or by force or where the victim is incapable of affirmative consent due to mental or physical incapacity. This offense includes the rape of any person and regardless of gender or gender identity.
- Statutory Rape: non-forcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. In New York, that statutory age of consent is 17 years old.
“Non-consensual sexual contact” The intentional touching of the body parts, whether contact is under clothing or over clothing, of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, sexual degradation or sexual humiliation, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity. Non-consensual sexual contact also includes the forced touching by the victim of the actor’s clothed or unclothed body parts, without consent of the victim for the purpose of sexual degradation, sexual gratification, or sexual humiliation.
“Dating Violence” refers to a pattern of violent behavior that is 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 Complainant’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, physical, or psychological abuse, or the threat of such abuse.
“Domestic Violence” means felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence 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 New York, 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 New York.
“Stalking” means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: (1) fear for his or her safety or the safety of others; or (2) suffer substantial emotional distress. For purpose of this definition:
“Course of conduct” means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in 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.
“Substantial emotional distress” means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.
“Reasonable person” means a person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim.
“Sex Discrimination” is an act that disadvantages a person and that occurs because of the affected individual’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Examples of sex discrimination include, but are not limited to, denying a student a research opportunity because of the student’s gender; giving a student a lower grade than they deserved because of the student’s gender; denying an employee a raise or promotion because of the employee’s gender.
“Sexual Exploitation” occurs when, without affirmative consent, a person takes sexual advantage of another. Sexual Exploitation includes, without limitation, causing or attempting to cause the incapacitation of another person in order to gain a sexual advantage over that person; causing the prostitution of another person; acts of incest, electronically recording, photographing, or transmitting intimate or sexual utterances, sounds or images of another person without the individual’s affirmative consent; allowing third parties to observe sexual acts without the consent of all involved; engaging in voyeurism; distributing intimate or sexual information about another person without that person’s consent; engaging in consensual sexual activity with another person while knowingly infected with HIV or some other sexually transmitted disease without informing the other person of such infection, and/or exposing one’s genitals in non-consensual circumstances.
“Retaliation”. Retaliation is an adverse act perpetrated to “get back” at a person because the person reported sexual misconduct, filed a complaint, or participated in an investigation or proceeding conducted pursuant to this policy by Munson or by an external agency. An act of retaliation may be anything that would tend to discourage an individual from reporting sexual misconduct, pursuing an informal or formal complaint, or from participating in an investigation or adjudication as a party or a witness. A person who acts in good-faith is protected from retaliation. The fact that a statement is not determined to be proven or established following investigation and adjudication does not mean that the statement lacked good-faith; a person may provide inaccurate information believing it is accurate, which is still good-faith. If a person who makes a statement knowing that it is false, the person has acted without good-faith.
