Prohibited conduct includes harassment and discrimination, including but not limited to sexual discrimination, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct or communications constituting sexual harassment, and discrimination or harassment based upon one's race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, sexual identity, age, genetic information, veteran status, or disability, as well as non-discriminatory harassment.
1. Non-Discriminatory Harassment
Non-discriminatory harassment, as defined by WLC Policy, includes any action, language, or visual representation that is sufficiently severe, pervasive, persistent, or patently offensive that it has the effect of unreasonably interfering with that person's work or academic performance, or that creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working, educational, or living environment.
It is a violation of this Policy for a member of the Wisconsin Lutheran College community (faculty, staff, student, guest/visitor, or anyone else acting at the instigation of a WLC community member) to:
- Engage in any form of harassment whether intentional or unintentional on the campus or in an off-campus area.
- Retaliate against a person who has initiated an inquiry or complaint having to do with harassment.
A hostile environment is defined as an environment on campus that, through harassing conduct (e.g., physical, verbal, graphic, or written) based on a person's protected status (e.g., sexual orientation, age, etc.), becomes sufficiently severe, pervasive, or persistent so as to interfere with or limit the ability of an individual to participate in or benefit from a university program or activity.
The acts listed below are included to clarify examples of acts which would qualify as discrimination or harassment against those with protected status under Title IX.
2. Discriminatory Harassment
Unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, veteran status, or disability, when:
- Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with the individual's work or educational performance;
- Such conduct creates or has the intention of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working and/or learning environment; or
- Such conduct unreasonably interferes with or limits one's ability to participate in or benefit from an educational program or activity.
3. Sex Discrimination
Making a distinction in favor of, or against, a person on the basis of sex rather than on individual merit, or making a distinction on the basis of sex that deprives a person of the ability to participate in or benefit from the college's education program or activities.
4. Sexual Harassment
Unwelcome, sex or gender-based verbal or physical conduct that unreasonably interferes with, limits, or deprives someone of the ability to participate in or benefit from the College's education program and/or activities; creates a hostile environment, or involves retaliation.
Examples of Sexual Harassment (pdf)
Sexual harassment can be:
- Verbal (e.g. comments about body, spreading sexual rumors, sexual remarks or accusations, dirty jokes, or stories)
- Visual/Non-Verbal (e.g. display of naked pictures or sex-related objects, obscene gestures
- Physical (e.g. grabbing, rubbing, flashing or mooning, touching, pinching in a sexual way, sexual assault)
5. Sexual Assault/Sexual Violence
Sexual assault/sexual violence is a particular type of sexual harassment that includes non-consensual sexual contact, non-consensual sexual intercourse, rape, or other physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person's will or where a person is incapable of giving consent3. Sexual assault/sexual violence includes, but is not necessarily limited to, physical assaults of a sexual nature, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking or attempts to commit these acts.
Non-Consensual Sexual Contact4 is: Any intentional sexual touching
- However slight,
- With any object,
- By a person of any gender to a person of any gender,
- That is without consent and/or by force.5
Non-Consensual Sexual Intercourse6 is: Any sexual intercourse
- However slight,
- With any object or body part,
- By a person of any gender to a person of any gender,
- That is without consent and/or by force.
Domestic Violence is: A pattern of abusive behavior that is used by an intimate partner to gain or maintain power and control over the other intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound.
Examples of Domestic Violence (pdf)
Dating Violence is: Defined as violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and where 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
- The frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship
Examples of Dating Violence/Abuse (pdf)
Stalking is: Stalking is defined as a pattern of repeated and unwanted attention, harassment, contact, or any other course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear.
Examples of Stalking (pdf)
Hazing is: Hazing includes but is not limited to any act directed toward an individual, or any coercion or intimidation of an individual to act or to participate in something which a reasonable person would perceive is likely to cause physical or psychological injury and where such act is a condition of initiation into, admission into, continued membership in or association with any group whether that group is a formal or informal entity.
Examples of Hazing (pdf)
6. Sexual Exploitation/Sexual Misconduct
Sexual Exploitation/Sexual Misconduct occurs when a student/employee takes non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another.
Examples of sexual exploitation and sexual misconduct include, but are not limited to:
- Invasion of sexual privacy
- Prostituting another person
- Non-consensual video or audio-recording or broadcasting or sharing of sexual activity
- Engaging in voyeurism
- Exposing one's genitals in non-consensual circumstances; forcing another to expose their genitals
- Sexually-based stalking and/or bullying
- Use or display in the classroom or any facility of the College, including electronic, of pornographic or sexually harassing materials such as posters, photos, cartoons or graffiti without pedagogical justification
- Sexual activity with someone whom one should know to be - or based on the circumstances should reasonably have known to be - mentally or physically incapacitated (by alcohol or other drug ingestion, unconsciousness or blackout), constitutes a violation of this policy.
- Sexual activity with someone whose incapacity results from mental disability, sleep, involuntary physical restraint, or from the taking of drugs.
- Sexual activity of any kind with anyone under the age of 18
NOTE: Use of alcohol or drugs will never function as a defense for any behavior that violates this policy.
3 Wisconsin Statute 940.225: Consent is words or overt actions indicating a freely given agreement, intelligent, knowing and voluntary, an affirmative (not the absence of a negative). Consent is not silence, a failure to fight back, or implied. Consent is null and void if: judgment is impaired by drugs or mental illness, someone changes her/his mind, someone under the age of 18 is consenting to sexual intercourse, someone under the age of 16 is consenting to sexual contact, or it was given under pressure/coercion.
4 Sexual contact includes: Intentional contact with the breasts, buttock, groin, or genitals, or touching another with any of these body parts, or making another touch you or themselves with or on any of these body parts; any intentional bodily contact in a sexual manner, though not involving contact with/of/by breasts, buttocks, groin, genitals, mouth or other orifice.
5 Force is the use of physical violence and/or imposing on someone physically to gain sexual access. Force also includes threats, intimidation (implied threats) and coercion.
6 Sexual Intercourse includes: vaginal or anal penetration by a penis, object, tongue or finger and oral copulation (mouth to genital contact or genital to mouth contact), no matter how slight the penetration or contact.