Sexual Violence

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities. Title IX also prohibits sexual violence against anyone participating in education programs and activities. 

The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act of 2013, which amended the Clery Act, expands the requirement of reporting sexual violence to include incidents of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

Sexual violence:  "Sexual Violence" refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person's will or where a person is incapable of giving consent (e.g. due to the person's age or use of drugs or alcohol, or because an intellectual or other disability prevents the individual from having the capacity to consent). Sexual violence includes rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual abuse, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual coercion. Sexual violence can occur between strangers or acquaintances, including people involved in an intimate or sexual relationship. Sexual violence can be committed by men or by women, and it can occur between people of the same or different sex.

Sexual violence is a broad term and includes various forms of sexual misconduct, including but not limited to:

• the deliberate touching of a person's intimate parts (including genitalia, groin, breast or buttocks, or clothing covering any of those areas);
• using force to cause a person to touch their own or another person's intimate parts; penetration (anal, oral or vaginal) by a penis, tongue, finger, or an inanimate object;
• taking sexual advantage of another person without consent, including causing or attempting to cause the incapacitation of another person;
• causing the prostitution of another person;
• allowing third parties to observe sexual acts;
• engaging in voyeurism;
• distributing intimate or sexual information about another person;
• knowingly transmitting a sexually transmitted infection, including HIV, to another person; and/or
• capturing or transmitting intimate or sexual utterances, sounds or images of another person.

Title IX and University Policy prohibit gender-based harassment, which may include acts of verbal, nonverbal, or physical aggression, intimidation, or hostility based on sex or sex-stereotyping, even if those acts do not involve conduct of a sexual nature.

The University Sexual Harassment Policy also prohibits sexual violence, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual exploitation and stalking.  If you have been subjected to sexual violence or have witnessed sexual violence, please contact the EOO office at (913) 588-8011, or click here to file a complalint online.

If you have been a victim of sexual violence follow these four steps:

1. Get to a safe place
2. Call someone you trust such as a friend or family member.
3. Seek medical attention to ensure your well-being as well as to have forensic evidence collected.
4. Give yourself time to heal, you are a survivor and what happened to you was not your fault

Here is a list of safe organizations for individuals who have encountered sexual violence.  These organizations can help with medical attention, filing a report, and the healing process:

     University of Kansas, Lawrence Campus & Douglas county

     GaDuGi Safe center  /  Student Health Services   /  Emily Taylor Womens Resource Center

     University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS Medical Center

     Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA)

     University of Kansas, Edwards Campus

     Safe House

     University of Kansas, Wichita, KS Medical Center

     Wichita Area Sexual Assault Center    

Additional Resources:

     University Sexual Harassment Policy

     KUMC Workplace and Campus Violence Policy

     ACHA Trauma-Informed Approach to Sexual Violence Toolkit

     Department of Education Title IX Website