Skip to main content
Pepperdine | Community

Definitions

Sexual Harassment is defined differently under federal and state law. The applicable definitions and procedures under these laws also depend on your status in the Pepperdine community as a student, faculty, staff, volunteer, or third party. Please do not let the legal complexities deter you from bringing a concern to the attention of our University Title IX Coordinator. Please see the complete Sexual Misconduct Policy, Appendix A, to review the full breadth of each definition and associated procedures.

 

Title IX Sexual Harassment (Environment)

Unwelcome conduct determined by a reasonable person to be so severe, pervasive (more than once), and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the University's education program or activity.

 

Title IX Sexual Harassment (Quid Pro Quo)

This occurs when a Pepperdine employee conditions the provision of aid, benefit, or service of the University on an individual's participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.


Non-Title IX California SB 493 Sexual Harassment

Conduct against a student that includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature, made by someone from or in the work or educational setting, under any of the conditions detailed in the Sexual Misconduct Policy, Appendix A.


Title IX and Non-Title IX Sexual Assault

  1. Rape: The actual or attempted penetration, however slightly, of a 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 their temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. For non-Title IX matters (a subset of sexual violence), California law defines rape as "penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any part or object, or oral copulation of a sex organ by another person, without the consent of the victim."
  2. Sodomy: Oral or anal sexual intercourse with 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 their youth or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  3. 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 their youth or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  4. 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 their youth or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity. For non-Title IX matters, California law defines Sexual Battery (fondling) as "the intentional touching of another person's intimate parts without consent, intentionally causing a person to touch the intimate parts of another without consent, or using a person's own intimate part to intentionally touch another person's body without consent."
  5. Incest: Nonforcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
  6. Statutory Rape: Nonforcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent of 18 years old.

 

Title IX and Non-Title IX Dating Violence

Dating Violence is defined as violence committed by a person: (A) who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and (B) 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.


Title IX and Non-Title IX Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence is defined as a 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 the state of California 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 state of California.


Title IX and Non-Title IX Stalking

Stalking is defined as engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to: (A) fear for their safety or the safety of others; or (B) suffer substantial emotional distress. For the purposes of this definition, course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the Respondent 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.


Sexual Exploitation (Not Prohibited by Title IX)

Non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for their own benefit or for the benefit of anyone other than the person being exploited. Examples of Sexual Exploitation are detailed in the Sexual Misconduct Policy, Appendix A.


Sex Discrimination (Not Included in Sexual Misconduct)

When an individual is subject to an adverse action based upon that individual's sex. An adverse action means an action that has a substantial and material adverse effect on the individual's ability to participate in a University program or activity. Minor or trivial actions or conduct not reasonably likely to do more than anger or upset an individual does not constitute an adverse action. Allegations of sex discrimination are not generally processed under this Policy.


FEHA Sexual Harassment (Not Included in Sexual Misconduct)

Any unwelcome behavior based on sex that is reasonably regarded as offensive that:

  • Sufficiently offends, humiliates, distresses, or intrudes upon its victim, so as to disrupt the victim's emotional tranquility in the workplace, or
  • Affects the victim's ability to perform the job as usual, or
  • Otherwise interferes with and undermines the victim's personal sense of well-being.

Further examples are detailed in the Sexual Misconduct Policy; Appendix A.