Terminology & Definitions
- Complainant: Individual who is reported to have experienced Prohibited Conduct, regardless of whether the individual makes a report or seeks disciplinary action.
- Respondent: Individual who has been accused of Prohibited Conduct.
- Third party: Individual who is not a University student, faculty member, or staff member (e.g., vendors, alumni/ae, visitors, or volunteers).
- Party or parties: May also be used to refer to a complainant or respondent participating in a resolution process.
- Witness: Individual who may have information relevant to a report of Prohibited Conduct.
The definitions of sexual harassment, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking provided in Baylor University’s Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy (“the Policy”) are intended to reflect that the University prohibits those forms of misconduct and/ or crime as, where applicable, they are defined in the federal Clery Act, as amended by the Violence Against Women Amendments Act of 2014 (“VAWA”), and the Department of Education regulations issued in 2020 to implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. The University also prohibits other forms of related misconduct and/or crime, and prohibits gender-based harassment, sexual exploitation, retaliation, and complicity, as reflected in the Policy. For greater detail regarding the definitions, please see the Policy, which is available at: baylor.edu/titleix.
Baylor’s Sexual and Interpersonal Misconduct Policy contains two subsets of Prohibited Conduct, Title IX Sexual Harassment and Non-Title IX Misconduct. Title IX Sexual Harassment is Prohibited Conduct of the following types committed by or against students and/or employees in an education program or activity of the University, in the United States. Prohibited Conduct that does not fall within the definition of Title IX Sexual Harassment, either due to the nature of the conduct or because it did not reportedly occur within a program or activity of the University in the United States is considered Non-Title IX Misconduct.