Administrative Leave is when the University places an Employee on interim work, supervision, leadership, or teaching suspension after the filing of a Formal Complaint against the Employee.

An advisor is an individual of the Complainant’s or Respondent’s choosing, including an attorney, to provide support during the Informal Resolution Process or Formal Resolution Process. More on the role and responsibility of an advisor can be found in the Title IX Grievance Procedures.

The person or panel who accepts or rejects a submitted appeal request, determines whether any of the grounds for appeal are met, and directs responsive action accordingly.

Coercion is verbal and/or physical conduct, including intimidation, unwanted contact, and express or implied threats of physical harm, that would reasonably place an individual in fear of immediate harm and that is employed to compel someone to engage in sexual contact.

A Complainant is a Student, Employee, or other individual who is alleged to have been subjected to Prohibited Conduct.

An oral or written request to the University that objectively can be understood as a request for the University to investigate and make a determination about the alleged Policy violation. It is Brown’s policy to confirm a Complainant’s request in writing prior to initiating the Title IX Grievance Procedures.

A Complaint can be made by a Complainant or the Title IX Coordinator, subject to the following limitations:

• For Complaints of Sex-Based Harassment, a Complainant may bring a Complaint under this Policy if they were enrolled, employed, or otherwise participating or attempting to participate in Brown’s Education Program or Activity at the time the alleged Sex-Based Harassment occurred. The Complainant need not be enrolled, employed, or otherwise participating or attempting to participate in Brown’s Education Program or Activity at the time the Complaint is made.
• For Complaints of Sex Discrimination other than Sex-Based Harassment and Retaliation, any person, not just a Complainant, may bring a Complaint under this Policy if they were enrolled, employed, or otherwise participating or attempting to participate in Brown’s Education Program or Activity at the time the alleged Sex Discrimination occurred. The person need not be enrolled, employed, or otherwise participating or attempting to participate in Brown’s Education Program or Activity at the time the Complaint is made.
• For Complaints of Prohibited Intimate Relationships, a Complainant must have been enrolled or employed at Brown at the time the alleged Prohibited Conduct occurred in order to file a Complaint under this Policy. The Complainant must also be enrolled or employed at the time the Complaint is made.

Note: A Complaint may also be brought by a parent, guardian, or other authorized legal representative with the legal right to act on behalf of a Complainant, where applicable.

Consent is an affirmative and willing agreement to engage in specific forms of sexual contact with another person. Consent requires an outward demonstration through mutually understandable words or actions, indicating that an individual has freely and affirmatively chosen to engage in sexual contact. Consent cannot be obtained through the use of Coercion or force or by taking advantage of the Incapacitation of another individual.

Silence, passivity, Incapacitation from alcohol or drugs, or the absence of resistance does not imply Consent. It is important not to make assumptions; if confusion or ambiguity arises during a sexual interaction, it is essential that each participant stops and clarifies the other’s willingness to continue.

Consent can be withdrawn at any time. When Consent is withdrawn, sexual activity must cease. Prior Consent does not imply current or future Consent. Even in the context of an ongoing relationship, Consent must be sought and freely given for each instance of sexual contact. An essential element of Consent is that it be freely given. Freely given Consent might not be present, or may not even be possible, in relationships of a sexual or intimate nature between individuals where one individual has power, supervision, or authority over another.

In evaluating whether Consent was given, consideration will be given to the totality of the facts and circumstances, including but not limited to the extent to which a Complainant or reporting party affirmatively uses words or actions indicating a willingness to engage in sexual contact, free from Coercion; whether a reasonable person in the Respondent’s position would have understood such person’s words and acts as an expression of Consent; and whether there are any circumstances, known or reasonably apparent to the Respondent, demonstrating Incapacitation.

Applicants, Contractors, Employees, Invitees, and Students, as defined below.

• Applicants: Individuals who are applying or have applied for employment or admission as a student or other participant in Brown’s Education Program or Activity.
• Contractors: Independent contractors, vendors, or other third parties contractually obligated to perform services for the University.
• Employees: Individuals employed by the University, including faculty, affiliates, visiting faculty, postdoctoral research associates, and all staff (including all exempt and non-exempt, bargaining unit, and senior administrative positions), as well as those physicians and health scientists who are not employed by the University but have Brown faculty, affiliate, postdoctoral, or house staff appointments for the purpose of teaching and/or research in the Division of Biology and Medicine.
  • A Student Employee is an individual who is both a Student and an Employee of Brown.
• Invitees: Visitors or guests of the University.
• Students: Individuals who have gained admission to the College, the Graduate School, the Warren Alpert Medical School, the School of Public Health, the School of Engineering, and/or the School of Professional Studies.
  • For Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) students who are not dually enrolled at Brown, the Title IX and Gender Equity Office will work with the RISD Title IX Office to determine jurisdiction.

All references in this Policy to days refer to business days unless specifically noted as calendar days. A business day is when the University is in normal operation.

For Student and Staff Respondent cases, the Hearing Officer hears the evidence, determines Relevance, and makes the Final Determination of whether the Policy has been violated and, if so, assigns Discipline. For Faculty Respondent cases, the Hearing Panel hears the evidence and makes the Final Determination of whether the Policy has been violated and, if so, recommends Discipline.

A consequence imposed on a Respondent following a determination that the Respondent violated this Policy. A Respondent who is found responsible for violating the Policy is subject to one or more of the following disciplinary actions:

• A verbal or written warning
• Probation
• Suspension
• Expulsion
• Revocation of or withholding a degree
• Academic transcript notation (see Note below)
• Restitution for damage to property
• Reflection or research papers or other academic assignments
• Letters of apology
• Restorative circles
• Attending or presenting educational programs or training
• No Contact Orders
• Referrals to other offices and resources on campus
• Administrative leave with or without pay
• Termination of employment
• Termination of relationship with the University
• Change in job description

Note: Academic Transcripts: Discipline of suspension and expulsion includes a permanent notation on the Student’s official academic transcript that the Office of the Registrar maintains. A Respondent’s access to a copy of their academic transcript will be suspended, and the University will not release a copy of the Respondent’s academic transcript to any other institution or third party during an investigation and resolution of a Complaint. Requests to release an academic transcript must be submitted to the Title IX Coordinator, who will determine whether to release the academic transcript and whether a notation indicating that a disciplinary investigation and/or charges are pending should be included on the academic transcript.

Conduct that occurs in Brown’s Education Program or Activity includes all conduct which is subject to Brown’s disciplinary authority and which occurred in the United States, including on-campus or, if applicable, in buildings owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by Brown. Brown will address conduct contributing to a Hostile Environment even if the underlying conduct itself occurred outside Brown’s Education Program or Activity, including if it occurred outside the United States.

The University may remove a Respondent from its Education Program or Activity, or certain aspects thereof (such as, but not limited to, access to University facilities, housing, classes, and/or student activities) if, after undertaking an individualized safety and risk analysis, the University determines that an immediate and serious threat to the health or safety of a Complainant,  any Students, Employees, or other persons arising from the alleged Prohibited Conduct justifies removal. In the event of such removal, the University provides the Respondent with notice and an opportunity to seek modification or reversal of the removal immediately following the removal. The Title IX Coordinator performs the safety and risk analysis, which may in the discretion of the Title IX Coordinator be conducted in conjunction with the Behavioral Assessment and Response Team (BART).

A conclusion by the standard of proof (preponderance of evidence) that the alleged Prohibited Conduct did or did not violate this Policy.

The use or threat of physical violence to overcome an individual’s freedom of will to choose whether or not to participate in sexual contact.

An individual who is incapacitated lacks the ability to make informed judgments and cannot consent to sexual contact. Incapacitation is the inability, temporarily or permanently, to give Consent because an individual is mentally and/or physically helpless, asleep, unconscious, or unaware that sexual activity is occurring. An incapacitated person cannot make rational, reasonable decisions because they lack the capacity to give knowing/informed consent (e.g., to understand the “who, what, when, where, why, and how” of their sexual interaction).

Mentally helpless means a person is temporarily incapable of appraising or controlling one’s conduct. Physically helpless means a person is physically unable to verbally or otherwise communicate Consent or unwillingness to an act.

Where alcohol or other drugs are involved, Incapacitation is a state beyond impairment or intoxication. Where alcohol or other drugs are involved, evaluating Incapacitation requires an assessment of how the consumption of alcohol and/or drugs affects a person’s decision-making ability, awareness of consequences, ability to make informed, rational judgments, capacity to appreciate the nature and quality of the act, or level of consciousness. The assessment is based on objectively and reasonably apparent indications of Incapacitation when viewed from the perspective of a sober, reasonable person.

A mechanism for the Parties to share more holistic information about themselves, the impact the reported conduct and/or resolution process has had on them, and any information related to Discipline.

A resolution agreed to by the Complainant and Respondent and approved by the Title IX Coordinator that occurs prior to a Final Determination.

A written statement by the Respondent explaining any factors that the Respondent believes should mitigate or otherwise be considered in determining the Discipline imposed.

• Parental Status: the status of a person who, with respect to another person under the age of 18, or who is 18 or older but incapable of self-care because of a physical or mental disability, is a biological parent; adoptive parent; foster parent; stepparent; legal custodian or guardian; in loco parentis; or actively seeking legal custody, guardianship, visitation, or adoption.
• Family Status: The configuration of a person’s family or their role in a family.
• Marital Status: Whether or not a person is married.

Importantly, discrimination based on these statuses must be sex-based in order to constitute Sex Discrimination (such as treating married women more or less favorably than married men, treating an unmarried mother more or less favorably than a married mother based on sex stereotypes, or treating a man who is married to a man more or less favorably than a woman who is married to a man).

A Complainant or Respondent.

Pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or lactation, medical conditions related thereto, or recovery from.

• Sex Discrimination: Subjecting an individual or group to an adverse action – including differential treatment - based on sex, including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity; Parental, Family, or Marital Status; and/or Pregnancy or Related Conditions. Sex-Based Harassment, including Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Stalking, is a form of Sex Discrimination, but separately defined under this Policy.
• Sex-based Harassment: Harassment on the basis of sex, including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, Pregnancy or Related Conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity, that falls into one or more of the following categories:   
  • Quid Pro Quo: An Employee, agent, or other person authorized by the University to provide an aid, benefit, or service under the University’s Education Program or Activity explicitly or impliedly conditions the provision of an aid, benefit, or service on an individual’s participation in unwelcome sexual conduct.
  • Hostile Environment Harassment: Unwelcome sex-based conduct that, based on the totality of the circumstances, is subjectively and objectively offensive, and is so severe or pervasive, that it limits or denies a person’s ability to participate in or benefit from the University’s Education Program or Activity. Determining whether conduct has created a hostile environment is a fact-specific inquiry which may include many factors such as, but not limited to: the degree to which the conduct affected the Complainant’s ability to access the University’s Education Program or Activity; the type, frequency, and duration of the conduct; the Parties’ ages, roles, previous interactions, and other factors about each Party that may be Relevant to evaluating the effects of the alleged unwelcome conduct; the location and context in which the conduct occurred; and other Sex-Based Harassment in the University’s Education Program or Activity.
  • Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Stalking: Sexual Assault, Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, and Stalking are forms of Sex-Based Harassment, just as Sex-Based Harassment is a form of Sex Discrimination. These types of Prohibited Conduct are separately defined.
• Sexual Assault: Sexual Assault is a forcible or nonforcible sex offense under the uniform crime reporting system of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which includes the following acts:
  • Fondling: The touching of the private body parts (breast, buttocks, groin, genital, or other intimate parts) of another person without that person’s Consent, including instances where the Complainant is incapable of giving Consent because of their age or because of their temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  • Incest: Nonforcible sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
  • 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.
  • 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 without that person’s Consent, including instances where the person is incapable of giving Consent because of their age or temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity.
  • Statutory Rape: Nonforcible sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of Consent.
• Dating Violence: Violence 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 a consideration of the following factors: (1) length of the relationship; (2) type of relationship; and (3) the frequency of the interaction between the parties involved in the relationship. Dating Violence does not include acts covered under the definition of Domestic Violence.
• Domestic Violence: Domestic Violence is violence committed (1) by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim under the family or domestic violence laws of Rhode Island, or a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim; (2) by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; (3) by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; or (4) 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 Rhode Island.
  
  Domestic Violence includes, but is not limited to, physical, sexual, emotional, economic, and/or psychological actions or threats of action, including threatening to reveal personal or confidential information (including, but not limited, to information regarding one’s gender identity and/or sexual orientation), that are intimidating, frightening, terrorizing, or threatening. Prohibited Conduct under this definition includes threats of violence or harm to one’s self, one’s family member(s) or friends, and/or one’s pet.
• Economic Abuse: The term ‘Economic Abuse,’ in the context of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and abuse in later life, means behavior that is coercive, deceptive, or unreasonable and/or controls or restrains a person’s ability to acquire, use, or maintain economic resources to which they are entitled, including using Coercion, fraud, or manipulation to:
  • Restrict a person’s access to money, assets, credit or financial information;
  • Unfairly use a person’s personal economic resources, including money, assets, and credit, for one’s own advantage; or
  • Exert undue influence over a person’s financial and economic behavior or decisions, including forcing default on joint or other financial obligations, exploiting powers of attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship, or failing or neglecting to act in the best interests of a person to whom one has a fiduciary duty.
• Technological Abuse: An act or pattern of behavior that occurs within Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence or Stalking and is intended to harm, threaten, intimidate, control, stalk, harass, impersonate, exploit, extort, or monitor, except as otherwise permitted by law, another person, that occurs using any form of technology, including but not limited to: internet enabled devices, online spaces ad platforms, computers, mobile devices, cameras and imaging programs, apps, location tracking devices, or communication technologies, or any other emerging technologies.
• Stalking: Stalking is a course of conduct on the basis of sex directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to (1) fear for their safety or the safety of others; or (2) suffer substantial emotional distress.
  
  Course of conduct means more than one act. Stalking can occur in person or using technology and the duration, frequency, and intensity of the conduct will be considered. Stalking tactics can include, but are not limited to watching, following using tracking devices, monitoring online activity, unwanted contact, property invasion or damage, hacking accounts, threats, violence, sabotage, and attacks.
  
  Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.
• Sexual Exploitation: Sexual Exploitation is a form of Hostile Environment Harassment that involves taking nonconsensual sexual advantage of another person for the benefit of anyone other than the person being taken advantage of. Examples of Sexual Exploitation include, but are not limited to:
  • Sexual voyeurism (such as watching or taking pictures, videos, or audio recordings of another person in a state of undress or of another person engaging in a sexual act without the Consent of all parties);
  • Invasion of sexual privacy (e.g., doxxing);
  • Knowingly making an unwelcome disclosure of (or threatening to disclose) an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression;
  • Disseminating, streaming, or posting pictures or video of another in a state of undress or of a sexual nature without the person’s Consent;
  • Exposing one’s genitals to another person without Consent;
  • Prostituting another individual; or
  • Knowingly exposing another individual to a sexually transmitted infection without the other individual’s knowledge and Consent;
  • Causing or attempting to cause the Incapacitation of another person (through alcohol, drugs, or any other means) for the purpose of compromising that person’s ability to give Consent to sexual activity, or for the purpose of making that person vulnerable to non-consensual sexual activity;
  • Misappropriation of another person’s identity on apps, websites, or other venues designed for dating or sexual connections (e.g., spoofing);
  • Forcing a person to take an action against that person’s will by threatening to show, post, or share information, video, audio, or an image that depicts the person’s nudity or sexual activity;
  • Knowingly soliciting a minor for sexual activity;
  • Engaging in sex trafficking;
  • Creating or disseminating synthetic media, including images, videos, or audio representations of individuals doing or saying sexually-related things that never happened, or placing identifiable real people in fictitious pornographic or nude situations without their consent (i.e., Deepfakes);
  • Creating or disseminating images or videos of child sexual abuse material
• Prohibited Intimate Relationships: No Employee shall request or accept sexual favors from or engage in a romantic, sexual, or intimate relationship with any Brown University undergraduate Student. This prohibition includes intimate relationships between Student supervisors and supervisees, and undergraduate, graduate, or medical school Student teaching or research assistants, teaching fellows, or proctors, and any undergraduate Student who is enrolled in a course or section taught by that individual or otherwise subject to that individual’s academic supervision. 
  
  Relationships of a sexual or intimate nature between Employees and graduate and medical school Students where the Employee has power, supervision, or authority over the Student are prohibited. No faculty, graduate or medical school Student, medical resident or fellow, postdoctoral fellow or associate, teaching or research assistant, fellow, or proctor shall request or accept sexual favors from or engage in a romantic, sexual, or intimate relationship with any graduate or medical school Student who is enrolled in a course or section taught by that individual or otherwise subject to that individual’s academic supervision.
  
  Academic supervision includes teaching, advising, supervising research, serving on a dissertation or other academic committee, grading, and/or having an influence upon funding and/or academic progress, and/or otherwise occupying a position of influence or power over a Student’s academic program.
  
  Even when both parties have consented at the outset to the development of such a relationship, it is the person in the position of greater authority who may be investigated for or charged with Prohibited Conduct.
  
  Pre-existing relationships of a sexual or intimate nature with a Student or relationships between individuals who are Employees must be disclosed on the Conflict of Interest Form and may require a management plan.
• Retaliation: Any intimidation, threat, coercion, or discrimination against any person by the University, a Student, or an Employee or other person authorized by the University to provide aid, benefit, or service under the University’s Education Program or Activity, for the purpose of interfering with that person’s rights under this Policy, or because the person has made a Report or Complaint under this Policy; made a report or complaint to an external agency or to law enforcement; or testified, assisted, or otherwise participated or refused to participate in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this Policy, including in an Informal Resolution Process, in the Title IX Grievance Procedures. It is not Retaliation for the University to require an Employee, or other person authorized by the University to provide aid, benefits, or services as part of the University’s Education Program or Activity, to participate as a witness in, or otherwise assist with, any Informal Resolution Process or Formal Resolution Process under this Policy.

Relevant means related to the allegations of Prohibited Conduct at issue and whether or not the alleged Prohibited Conduct occurred. Questions are Relevant when they seek evidence that may aid in showing whether the alleged Prohibited Conduct occurred, and evidence is Relevant when it may aid a decisionmaker in determining whether the alleged Prohibited Conduct occurred. The following evidence is impermissible (and will not be considered Relevant) even if it would otherwise be considered Relevant:

• evidence protected under a privilege recognized by federal or state law, unless the person holding the privilege has waived it voluntarily;
• records that are made or maintained by a physician, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional in connection with the provision of treatment to a Party or witness, unless the person has voluntarily consented, in writing, to the use of such records in the Title IX Grievance Procedures; and/or
• evidence and questions about the Complainant’s sexual interests or prior sexual conduct, unless evidence and questions about the Complainant’s prior sexual conduct:
  • is offered to prove that someone other than the Respondent committed the conduct alleged, or
  • concerns specific incidents of prior sexual activity with the Respondent which are offered to prove Consent.

Measures provided, as appropriate, to a Complainant or any other person the University identifies as having had their equal access to the University’s Education Program or Activity limited or denied by Prohibited Conduct. These measures are provided to restore or preserve that person’s access to the University’s Education Program or Activity after the University determines that Prohibited Conduct occurred.

A person who is alleged to have engaged in Prohibited Conduct.

Any notice of conduct that may constitute Prohibited Conduct. Not every Report is or will result in a Complaint. For example, a Report is made when a Complainant, reporting party, or third party seeks information or Supportive Measures, or informs the University of Prohibited Conduct, even when such party is not making a Complaint or pursuing a complaint resolution process to address the alleged Prohibited Conduct.

Sex assigned at birth, sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, Pregnancy or Related Conditions, Parental, Family, or Marital Status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Non-punitive, non-disciplinary individualized measures offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the Complainant or Respondent. Supportive Measures are designed to: (1) restore or preserve that Party’s access to the University’s Education Program or Activity, including measures that are designed to protect the safety of the Parties or the University’s educational environment; and/or (2) provide support during the Informal Resolution Process or Formal Resolution Process, without unreasonably burdening the either Party.