Sexual Assault and Rape (Title IX)
CDSP will not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form, including acquaintance or date rape. The school will take appropriate action to prevent, correct, and discipline behavior that is found to violate school policy or laws proscribing rape and sexual assault. CDSP prohibits rape and sexual assault. CDSP will report to appropriate law enforcement authorities any suspected or reported violation of the law.
Please contact the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer immediately to make a report of attempted or actual sexual assault or rape.
Rape is defined to include all acts of sexual intercourse involving penetration imposed under the following circumstances:
- where the complaining party is incapable, because of a mental, developmental, or physical disability, of giving legal consent and this fact is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act; or
- where such an act is accomplished against a person’s consent by means of force, coercion, duress, violence, or reasonable fear of harm to the complaining party or another; or
- where the complaining party is prevented from resisting or giving consent as a result of intoxication, or is unconscious at the time of the act, and this fact is known to the person committing the act.
Acquaintance rape is sexual intercourse undertaken by a friend or acquaintance without the consent of the student.
Sexual assault is defined as the imposition of non-consensual sexual conduct excluding rape, including but not limited to oral copulation, penetration by a foreign object, or caressing, fondling, or touching of a person’s genitalia, buttocks, or breasts.
Consent is defined as positive cooperation in act or attitude pursuant to an exercise of free will. The individuals consenting must act freely and voluntarily and have knowledge of the nature of the act or transaction involved. It is a defense to the allegation of non-consent that a defendant held a reasonable and good faith belief that the complainant was consenting. A current or previous dating relationship is not sufficient to constitute consent. The determination regarding the presence or absence of consent should be based on the totality of circumstances, including the context in which the alleged incident occurred. The fact that an individual was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time may be considered in determining whether that person had consented to the act in question. Students should understand that consent may not be inferred from silence or passivity alone.
