Breadcrumb

Definitions

  1. Complainant – An individual who has experienced alleged sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct.
  2. Respondent – The individual against whom a complaint of sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct has been made.
  3. Bystander – Individuals who observe possible sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct and have the opportunity to intervene. Bystanders may report possible sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct (see “Reporting”). Responsible employees which includes faculty and staff are required to report.
  4. College – Louisburg College
  5. Confidential Resources – Employees at the College who are permitted to guarantee confidentiality. These include staff in the Joel Porter Counseling Center (919-497-3205); the College Chaplain (919-497-3231); and health services staff (919-497-1399).
  6. Responsible Employees – Louisburg College faculty and staff, including residence life staff, who are not designated as confidential resources. While we take the wishes of the complainant into strong consideration, reports of sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct made to a responsible employee must be reported to the College’s Title IX Coordinator.
  7. College Community – Students, employees, visitors, and independent contractors of Louisburg College. 
  8. Consent – words or actions that show an active knowing and voluntary agreement to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity. Consent cannot be gained by force, by ignoring or acting without regard to the objectives of another, or by taking advantage of the incapacitation of another, where the student knows or reasonably should have known of such incapacity. Use of alcohol or drugs may impair an individual’s capacity to freely consent and may render an individual incapable of giving consent. Consent may not be implied by silence or any other absence of active resistance. Prior consent does not imply consent to future sexual acts, nor doesn’t consent to one type of sexual act imply consent to another type of sexual act.
 
Yes means yes
This means that affirmative consent should be freely given by all participants, without coercion or duress, before any sexual activity occurs. It does not matter if or what kind of sexual behavior has occurred at an earlier point in time. Consent to sexual activity may be withdrawn at any time, as long as the withdrawal of consent is communicated clearly. Upon clear communication of withdrawal, all sexual activity must cease.
  
Consent may not be given by the following persons:
  • Individuals who are mentally incapacitated at the time of the sexual contact in a manner that prevents him or her from understanding the nature or consequences of the sexual act involved;
  • Individuals who are unconscious or otherwise physically helpless; and
  • Minors.
 
Incapacitation is defined as the physical and/or mental inability to make informed, rational judgements that inhibits an individual’s ability to give consent. Incapacitation may be caused by a permanent or temporary physical or mental impairment. Incapacitation may also result from the consumption of alcohol or the use of drugs.
 
The use of alcohol or drugs may, but does not automatically affect a person’s ability to consent to sexual activity. The consumption of alcohol or drugs may create a mental incapacity if the nature and degree of the intoxication go beyond the stage of merely reduced inhibition and reach a point in which the complainant does not understand the nature and consequences of the sexual act. In such case, the person cannot consent.
 
A person violates the sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct policy if he or she has sexual contact with someone he or she knows or should know is mentally incapacitated or has reached the degree of intoxication that results in incapacitation. The test of whether an individual should know about another’s incapacitation is whether a reasonable, sober person would know about the incapacitation. A respondent cannot rebut a sexual harassment, discrimination, and misconduct charge merely by arguing that he or she was drunk or otherwise impaired and, as a result did not know that the other person was incapacitated.
 
An individual who is passed out or unconscious as a result of the consumption of alcohol or drugs is physically helpless and is unable to give consent. NOTE: Immediate medical attention should be summoned for an individual found to be in this state.