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Frequently Asked Questions
What is...
What is a Consensual Relationship?
Have I or has my friend been sexually assaulted? Where can I go for help?
What is mandatory reporting?
Where else can I go for help?
Birkham Health Center
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FSU Department of Public Safety
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Women's Information Service, Inc. (WISE) Crisis Hotline: 1-800-374-WISE
What is Sexual Assault?
According to the Ferris State University Student Handbook...
If physical sexual contact occurs and there is a lack of consent (or a person is not able to consent) or force is involved, a sexual assault most likely has occurred. Lack of consent is a crucial factor. Where force, threat of force, or coercion is involved, the victim has not consented. Furthermore, persons under the influence of drugs or alcohol may lose their ability to consent, and persons of insufficient age and mental capacity also may not legally consent. While use of alcohol or drugs may render the victim of sexual assault legally unable to consent, use of alcohol or drugs by the perpetrator does not diminish the perpetrator’s personal responsibility or exposure to disciplinary sanctions.
What is Sexual Harassment?
According to the Ferris State University Student Handbook...
Based on the definition contained in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, adapted to include educational environments, sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
- Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or academic advancement;
- Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as a factor in employment or academic decisions affecting such individuals; or
- Such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual’s work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working, living or academic environment.
While sexual harassment most often takes place in situations of power differential between the persons involved, sexual harassment may also occur between persons of the same status (e.g., student-to-student). The person exhibiting sexually harassing conduct need not realize or intend the conduct to be offensive for the conduct to constitute sexual harassment.
What is Domestic Violence?
According to the National Victim Assistance Academy textbook...
Domestic violence is coercive behavior through the use of intimidating, threatening, harmful or harassing behavior. This definition validates that domestic violence includes multiple forms of abuse including physical, sexual and emotional or psychological. Here are specific examples of these types of behavior: Physical abuse. Physical abuse is usually recurrent and usually escalates both in frequency and severity. It may include the following:
- Pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, punching, kicking the victim.
- Holding, tying down or restraining the victim.
- Inflicting bruises, welts, lacerations, punctures, fractures, burns, scratches.
- Strangling the victim.
- Pulling the victim's hair or dragging the victim by the victim's hair or body parts.
- Assaulting the victim with a weapon.
- Inflicting injury upon pets or animals.
Sexual abuse. Sexual abuse in violent relationships is often the most difficult aspect of abuse for women to discuss. It may include any form of forced sex or sexual degradation:
- Trying to make or making the victim perform sexual acts against her will.
- Pursuing sexual activity when the victim is not fully conscious, or is not asked, or is afraid to say no.
- Physically hurting the victim during sex or assaulting her genitals, including the use of objects or weapons intravaginally, orally or anally.
- Coercing the victim to have sex without protection against pregnancy or sexually transmittable diseases.
- Criticizing the victim and calling her sexually degrading names (AMA 1992b, 40-41).
- Engaging in unwanted sexual contact that may result in torn, stained or bloody underclothing; difficulty walking or sitting; pain, itching, bruising or bleeding in genital areas; unexplained venereal disease or genital infections.
Emotional or psychological abuse. Emotional or psychological abuse may precede or accompany physical violence as a means of controlling through fear and degradation. It may include the following:
- Threats of harm.
- Physical and social isolation.
- Extreme jealousy and possessiveness.
- Deprivation of resources to meet basic needs.
- Intimidation, degradation and humiliation.
- Name calling and constant criticizing, insulting and belittling the victim.
- False accusations, blaming the victim for everything.
- Ignoring, dismissing, or ridiculing the victim's needs.
- Lying, breaking promises and destroying the victim's trust.
- Driving fast and recklessly to frighten and intimidate the victim.
- Leaving the victim in a dangerous place.
- Refusing to help when the victim is sick or injured.
- Threats or acts of violence/injury upon pets or animals.
What is Mandatory Reporting?
According to the Ferris State University Student Handbook...
When a sexual assault has occurred, it is essential for the safety and well being of the University community that the incident be reported immediately to the proper authorities.
The following, in addition to the University Department of Public Safety, have been designated as �Reporting Officials� for sexual assaults at the University: Director of Student Conduct, Director of Residential Programs and Services, Vice President of Student Affairs, Affirmative Action Director, Director of Student Leadership and Activities, Athletic Director, Academic Affairs Administrators and Deans, and the Vice-President of Administration and Finance (see the following list of contact telephone numbers for Reporting Officials). All coaches, advisors of student organizations, student center or extra-curricular activities� advisors or directors, all residence hall staff, and all employee supervisors are also Reporting Officials.
Reporting Officials are designated to receive sexual assault reports and are required to relate all such reports to the Department of Public Safety. Reporting Officials will inform victims of the importance of reporting the incident to the police and will assist victims who elect to report with contacting the proper authorities. Reporting Officials will also take steps to provide support services to the victim and preserve evidence of the assault.
In the event the victim is reluctant to report, Reporting Officials shall report the matter to the Department of Public Safety. Local law enforcement officials should also be contacted when the assault occurs off campus.
The University Department of Public Safety (DPS) takes every report of sexual assault seriously. DPS will actively investigate the assault and make available to the victim a variety of services located both at Ferris State University and in the community. It is the goal of DPS and other reporting officials to treat victims with courtesy, sensitivity, understanding, and professionalism.
Victims who wish to speak to someone who is not required to report are encouraged to find confidential counseling available on campus through the Counseling Center. Upon the victim's request, the Counseling Center may report the sexual assault as a crime statistic without identifying the victim.
DPS shall report all student perpetrators to the Office of Student Conduct. DPS shall make arrangements, to the best of their ability, to receive reports from all local law enforcement agencies regarding campus related sexual assaults.
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