Key Definitions

The following are definitions of keywords found in the Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence, Relationship Violence, Stalking, and Related Misconduct by Employees and Third Parties [PDF].

  • Complainant - refers to the person making the allegation(s) of prohibited conduct
  • Gender-Based Harassment - refers to acts of aggression, intimidation, stalking, or hostility based on gender, gender identity, or gender-stereotyping. Gender-based harassment can occur if individuals are harassed either for exhibiting what is perceived as a stereotypical characteristic of their sex, or for failing to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity. To constitute harassment, the conduct must unreasonably interfere with an individual's employment, education, or participation in a University activity or create an unreasonably intimidating, hostile, demeaning, or offensive work, academic, or living environment.
  • Office of Employment Equity (OEE) - is a universitywide office that supports Rutgers' commitment to preventing discrimination and advancing equal opportunity in employment. OEE investigates complaints of discrimination and harassment based on membership in a protected class, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, workplace violence, and Conscientious Employee Protection Policy violations.
  • Respondent - refers to the person alleged to have committed the prohibited conduct
  • Sexual Harassment - includes any unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other unwelcome written, verbal, or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
  • submission to such conduct is made, explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of an individual’s education, employment, or participation in a University activity;
  • submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for decisions affecting that individual’s academic standing, employment status, or participation in a University activity; or
  • such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic or work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for that individual’s employment, education, or participation in a University activity.
  • Sexual harassment can be committed by anyone regardless of gender identity and can occur between members of the same or opposite sex.
  • “Hostile environment” exists when unwelcome conduct of a sexual or gender-based nature has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic or work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for that individual’s employment, education, living environment or participation in a University activity. A person does not have to be the target of harassment to complain about it. Harassing behavior toward others may be so offensive, demeaning, or disruptive as to constitute a hostile work or academic environment, even if the harassment is not specifically directed at the observer or individual lodging the complaint. Alleged harassment will be evaluated according to the objective standard of a reasonable person. A single, isolated incident of sexual or gender-based harassment may, based on the facts and circumstances, create a hostile environment.
  • Title IX - refers to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance.
  • Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA) - the Rutgers offices that provide services designed to raise awareness of and respond to the impact of interpersonal violence and other crimes. Through a combination of direct service, education, training, policy development, and consulting to the University and broader community, VPVA serves as a critical voice in changing prevailing beliefs and attitudes about violence and sexual misconduct. VPVA has a universitywide presence at  Rutgers.