Consent and Bystander Prevention

51ÖØ¿ÚÁÔÆæ students are provided opportunities to learn more about effective consent and safely intervening in harmful situations through annual trainings and programs.

Title IX for Students

Consent is essential for any sexual activity

Consent is a mutual and voluntary agreement to engage in a sexual activity; consent must be informed and freely given. 

  • Consent once given may be withdrawn
  • Consent to one form of sexual activity does not imply consent to other forms of sexual activity.
  • Silence does not constitute consent.
  • Past consent to sexual activities does not imply ongoing future consent
  • Effective consent may not exist when there is a disparity in power: Supervisor/Employee or Faculty/Student.

There is no consent if:

  • Coercion, intimidation, threats and/or physical force are used.
  • A person is mentally or physically incapacitated, or impaired by alcohol or drugs such that the person cannot understand the fact, nature or extent of the sexual situation.
  • A person is asleep or unconscious.

How can you prevent sexual misconduct from occurring?

Students are encouraged to use bystander-focused prevention methods, and specifically, the 5 D's of bystander intervention

  1. Direct – Speak directly to the issue.  Directly confront a situation where someone is being harmed or is at risk of being harmed. You can ask if everything is alright or state that the behavior is problematic. 
  2. Distract – Redirect to de-escalate the situation. Distracting allows you to diffuse a tough situation with the goal of interrupting the behavior, and not necessarily confronting it directly in the moment.
  3. Delegate –  Get help from someone else.  Delegating allows you to reach out for support when you need it. Look for other people to back you up when it is time to intervene, or call someone more qualified to assist such as a resident assistant, coach or police officer. 
  4. Delay - Check in later. Delaying intervention can mean offering support to someone after an incident. It is a good tool for times when in-the-moment interventions are impractical or might do more harm than good.
  5. Document - Create a Record. Record what is happening only if it is safe to do so and someone if already intervening.