FAS Policy Statement on Rape, Sexual Assault, and Other Sexual Misconduct

Introduction

All members of the University community have a right to treatment with dignity and respect and to full participation in the community. These rights extend to classrooms, workplaces, and residences. They include the right to bodily safety and integrity. In recognition of these rights, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is committed to creating and maintaining an environment at Harvard in which all individuals-faculty, staff, and students-are treated with dignity and feel safe and secure in their persons. These principles are fundamental to the attainment of a community devoted to teaching, learning, and research.

In accordance with these principles, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences will not tolerate sexual misconduct including rape and sexual assault, whether affecting a man or a woman, perpetrated by an acquaintance or a stranger, by someone of the same sex or someone of the opposite sex. Such behavior is unacceptable in our community. A student who commits rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct is subject to severe penalties under the rules of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Rape and sexual assault are serious crimes under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the individuals responsible for such acts are subject to prosecution and legal penalties.

Application

This policy and its related disciplinary procedure apply when an allegation of sexual misconduct is made against a student at Harvard College. Within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, different reporting and disciplinary procedures apply when the individual alleged to have committed an act of sexual misconduct is a graduate student, or member of the faculty or staff.

Sexual Misconduct

For the purposes of this policy, sexual misconduct is to be understood as encompassing the following behaviors:

• Rape includes any act of sexual intercourse that takes place against a person's will or that is accompanied by physical coercion or the threat of bodily injury. Unwillingness may be expressed verbally or physically. Rape may also include intercourse with a person who is incapable of expressing unwillingness or is prevented from resisting, as a result of conditions including, but not limited to, those caused by the intake of alcohol or drugs. Rape includes not only unwilling or forced vaginal intercourse, but also the sexual penetration of any bodily orifice with a body part or other object.
• Sexual assault includes any unwanted touching or fondling of a sexual nature that is accompanied by physical force or threat of bodily injury.
• Sexual misconduct may also include other serious or persistent unwanted sexual contact or conduct, such as harassment, threats, intimidations, or unwanted touching or fondling.

Being intoxicated does not diminish a student's responsibility in perpetrating rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct.

Remedies

Rape and sexual assault are felonies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and any student who believes that she or he has suffered a rape or sexual assault is strongly encouraged to pursue legal remedies by contacting HUPD immediately (617-495-1212). Students may also choose to initiate disciplinary or remedial action for sexual misconduct, including rape and sexual assault, through Harvard College in accordance with the procedures for adjudicating peer disputes, as established by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Disciplinary or remedial action under those procedures may be pursued whether or not a complainant chooses to prosecute the case. Counseling and consultations regarding emotional, legal, and administrative concerns are available to those students who wish to pursue either College or legal processes, or both.

Harvard and the local community provide many resources to support, advise, and assist victims of rape and sexual assault. All of the following resources have had training to deal effectively with sexual assault. In addition to HUPD and HUHS, Harvard College has administrative officers and counselors available to help. Some resources are as follows:

Harvard Resources

Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR)
Holyoke Center
617-495-9100, 24 hours

Harvard University Police Department (HUPD)
Sensitive Crimes Unit
617-495-1796, 8 am-4 pm. After these hours, HUPD, (617-495-1212)

HUHS Medical After-Hours service
(nights and weekends)
Holyoke Center
617-495-5711

HUHS Mental Health Service
Holyoke Center
617-495-2042

Bureau of Study Counsel
5 Linden Street
617-495-2581

RESPONSE
(peer counseling for sexual assault, 8 pm-7 am)
Lowell House Basement E-013
617-495-9600

Assistant Dean Julia Fox
(to discuss options for pursuing a sexual harassment complaint through informal and formal discipline)
Office of Career Services (OCS)
617-495-4348

Community Resources

Beth Israel Hospital Emergency Room (West Campus)
(for medical evidence collection within 5 days of a sexual assault)
Clinical Center, Pilgrim Road, Boston
617-754-2400

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Rape Intervention Program
617-667-8141

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center Hotline
99 Bishop Allen Drive (Central Square) Cambridge
617-492-RAPE or 617-492-7273

Cambridge Police Department
(to make a police report)
Sexual Assault Unit
617-349-3371

Cambridge Hospital Victims of Violence counseling program
Central Street Health Clinic, Somerville
617-591-6360

If a student chooses not to take advantage of these resources, HUPD and the College encourage any student who has been sexually assaulted to identify a trusted friend, family member, counselor, or other source of support to help deal with the emotional trauma he or she may experience, and know that at any time, there are additional resources available. Ideally, a good source of support will allow a survivor of sexual assault or rape to make decisions and take control over the choices they make after the assault.