Sexual Misconduct Policy

Students, faculty, staff, and administrators are entitled to an educational and working environment free of discriminatory harassment on the bases of sex and gender. Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is committed to ensuring a safe learning and working environment for all members of the GSW community in accordance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”). GSW does not tolerate discrimination on the basis of sex in any of its education programs or activities or in employment.

Definitions and Prohibited Conduct

• Community: Students, faculty, and staff, as well as contractors, vendors, visitors and guests.

• Complainant: An individual who is alleged to have experienced conduct that violates this Policy.

• Consent: Words or actions that show a knowing and voluntary willingness to engage in mutually agreed-upon sexual activity. Consent cannot be gained by force, intimidation or coercion; by ignoring or acting in spite of objections of another; or by taking advantage of the incapacitation of another where the respondent knows or reasonably should have known of such incapacitation. Minors under the age of 16 cannot legally consent under Georgia law.

  Consent is also absent when the activity in question exceeds the scope of consent previously given. Past consent does not imply present or future consent. Silence or an absence of resistance does not imply consent.

  Consent can be withdrawn at any time by either party by using clear words or actions.

• Dating Violence: Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the alleged victim. Dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

• Domestic Violence: Violence committed by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the alleged victim; by a person with whom the alleged 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, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the alleged victim.

• Incapacitation: The physical and/or mental inability to make informed, rational judgments. It can result from mental disability, sleep, involuntary physical restraint, status as a minor under the age of 16, or from intentional or unintentional taking of alcohol and/or other drugs. Whether someone is incapacitated is to be judged from the perspective of an objectively reasonable person.

• Nonconsensual Sexual Contact: Any physical contact with another person of a sexual nature without the person’s consent. It includes but is not limited to touching (or penetrating) of a person’s intimate parts (such as genitalia, groin, breasts, or buttocks); touching (or penetrating) a person with one’s own intimate parts; or forcing a person to touch his or her own or another person’s intimate parts. This provision also includes “Fondling” as defined by the Clery Act. 

• Nonconsensual Sexual Penetration: Any penetration of the vagina, anus, or mouth by a penis, object, tongue, finger, or other body part; or contact between the mouth of one person and the genitals or anus of another person. This provision also includes “Rape, Incest, and Statutory Rape” as defined by the Clery Act.

• Confidential Employees: Institution employees who have been designated by the GSW Title IX Coordinator to talk with an alleged victim in confidence. Confidential Employees must only report that the incident occurred and provide date, time, location, and name of alleged respondent (if known) without revealing any information that would personally identify the alleged victim. This minimal reporting must be submitted in compliance with Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”). Confidential Employees may be required to fully disclose details of an incident in order to ensure campus safety.

• Privileged Employees: Individuals employed by the institution to whom a complainant or alleged victim may talk in confidence, as provided by law. Disclosure to these employees will not automatically trigger an investigation against the complainant’s or alleged victim’s wishes. Privileged Employees include those providing counseling, advocacy, health, mental health, or sexual-assault related services (e.g., sexual assault resource centers, campus health centers, and campus mental health centers) or as otherwise provided by applicable law. Exceptions to confidentiality exist where the conduct involves suspected abuse of a minor (in Georgia, under the age of 18) or otherwise provided by law, such as imminent threat of serious harm.

• Respondent: Individual who is alleged to have engaged in conduct that violates this Policy.

• Reporter: An individual who reports an allegation of conduct that may violate this Policy but who is not a party to the complaint.

• Responsible Employees: Those employees who must promptly and fully report complaints of or information regarding sexual misconduct to the Coordinator. Responsible Employees include any administrator, supervisor, faculty member, or other person in a position of authority who is not a Confidential Employee or Privileged Employee. Student employees who serve in a supervisory, advisory, or managerial role are in a position of authority for purposes of this Policy (e.g., teaching assistants, residential leaders, and student managers).

• Sexual Exploitation: Taking non-consensual or abusive sexual advantage of another for one’s own advantage or benefit, or for the benefit or advantage of anyone other than the one being exploited.

  Examples of sexual exploitation may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Invasion of sexual privacy;
  • Prostituting another individual;
  • Non-consensual photos, video, or audio of sexual activity;
  • Non-consensual distribution of photo, video, or audio of sexual activity, even if the sexual activity was consensual;
  • Intentional observation of nonconsenting individuals who are partially undressed, naked, or engaged in sexual acts;
  • Knowingly transmitting an STD or HIV to another individual through sexual activity;
  • Intentionally and inappropriately exposing one’s breasts, buttocks, groin, or genitals in non-consensual circumstances; and/or
  • Sexually-based bullying.

• Sexual Harassment (Student on Student): Unwelcome verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct based on sex (including gender stereotypes), determined by a Reasonable Person to be so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to participate in or to benefit from an institutional education program or activity.

• Sexual Harassment (Other Than Student on Student): Unwelcome verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct, based on sex (including gender stereotypes), that may be any of the following:

  1. Implicitly or explicitly a term or condition of employment or status in a course, program, or activity;
  2. A basis for employment or educational decisions; or
  3. Is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive to interfere with one’s work or educational performance creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or learning environment, or interfering with or limiting one’s ability to participate in or to benefit from an institutional program or activity.

  GSW also prohibits unwelcome conduct determined by a Reasonable Person to be so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to a GSW education program or activity in violation of Title IX.

• Sexual Misconduct: Includes, but is not limited to, such unwanted behavior as dating violence, domestic violence, nonconsensual sexual contact, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment and stalking.

• Stalking: Engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or the safety of others or suffer substantial emotional distress.

  For the purposes of this definition:

  1. Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker 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 person’s property.
  2. Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

GSW encourages complainants to report their complaints in writing, though oral complaints are accepted, taken seriously, and investigated, to the extent possible. While complaints should be made as quickly as possible following an alleged incident of sexual misconduct, all reports will be accepted regardless of when the alleged incident(s) took place.

GSW Title IX Policy and Procedures are guided by University System of Georgia – Board of Regents Policies 6.7 and 4.6.5.

Updated 2/21/2023

We have provided copies of all training materials in accordance with §106.45(b)(10)D, which states that "all materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, investigators, decision-makers, and anyone who facilitates an informal resolution process must be publicly available". The applicable training for each category can be found below:

• Title IX Coordinator Training Fall 2020
• Returning Title IX Investigator Training Fall 2020
• Appellate Decision Makers Refresher Training Fall 2020
• Hearing Officer Training Student Sexual Misconduct Fall 2020
• Hearing Panelist Refresher Training Fall 2020
• Hearing Officer Training Employee Sexual Misconduct Fall 2020
• New Hearing Panelist Training Fall 2020