II. Definitions
- Effective consent: informed, freely and actively given, with mutually understandable words or actions which indicate a willingness to participate in mutually agreed upon sexual activity.
- In the absence of mutually understandable words or actions (a meeting of the minds on what is to be done, where, with whom, and in what way), it is the responsibility of the initiator, or the person who wants to engage in the specific sexual activity to make sure that they have consent from their partner(s).
- Mutually understandable consent is a subjective standard. Consent is mutually understandable when a reasonable person would consider the words or actions of the parties to have manifested a mutually understandable agreement between them to do the same thing, in the same way, at the same time, with each other.
- Consent which is obtained through the use of fraud or force whether that force be physical force, threats, intimidation, or coercion, is ineffective consent;
- Effective consent may never be given by minors (statutory rape) to legal adults, mentally disabled persons, or physically incapacitated persons. One who is physically incapacitated as a result of alcohol or other drug consumption (voluntary and involuntary), or who is unconscious, unaware, or otherwise physically helpless, is incapable of giving consent. One may not engage in sexual activity with another who one knows or should reasonably have known is physically incapacitated. Incapacitation means being in a state where a person lacks the capacity to appreciate the fact that the situation is sexual or cannot appreciate (rationally and reasonably) the nature and/or extent of that situation.
- Intercourse: Intercourse includes: vaginal penetration by a penis, object, tongue or finger; anal penetration by a penis, object, tongue, or finger; and oral copulation (mouth to genital contact or genital to mouth contact).
- Sexual touching: any contact with the breasts, buttocks, groin, mouth, or genitals, or touching another with any of these body parts, or making another touch you or themselves with or on any of these body parts.
- The definitions in Section VIII of the Code of Community Conduct are incorporated in the Sexual Misconduct Policy by this reference.
