Sexual Assault and Harassment

Our office assists the campus community in coping with sexual assault and its effects through peer education, workshops, prevention, and collaborations with campus, local, and community resources such as the Lorain County Nord Rape Crisis Center. The center is one of several campus offices that collaborate to annually sponsor and coordinate Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The following resources are for survivors of sexual assault. It may also be useful for family and friends of survivors. Send e-mail to us at life.skills@oberlin.edu if you feel there is an addition or correction to be made.

For information on the Sexual Offense Policy Review Committee, please e-mail the Sexual Offense Policy Administrator

 

A Focus On Stalking Prevention:

What is Stalking?

Stalking refers to a course of conduct directed at a specific person that includes varied behavior that serves to harass, frighten, threaten, and/or force the stalker into the life and consciousness of the victim.

Adapted from: US Department of Justice. (2001).  “Report to Congress on Stalking and Domestic Violence.”

 Oberlin College Rules and Regulations:

From the Students’ Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, Code of Conduct:

Stalking is classified as PHYSICAL VIOLENCE

D. Acts of stalking, defined by the State of Ohio Stalking Law as knowingly engaging in a pattern of conduct, related in time, that causes another to believe that the offender will cause that other person physical or mental harm.

 

What is the difference between harassment and stalking?

In the United States Code Title 18 Subsection 1514(c)1, harassment is defined as "a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such a person and serves no legitimate purpose". The Modern Penal Code section 250.4(MPC) defines harassment as: 1) phone calls without a legitimate purpose; or 2) insults, taunts or challenges to another in a manner likely to provoke violent or disorderly response; or 3) calls at inconvenient hours or in offensive language; or 4) subjecting another to offensive touching; or 5) engagement in any other course of alarming conduct serving no legitimate purpose of the actor.[ii]

Legal definitions of stalking, on the other hand, vary from state to state, but they usually include some acknowledgement that stalking behavior causes fear in the victim.  Stalking can include less overt action than harassment, like following the victim, sending the victim mail, watching the victim, or any number of other threatening activities.  Stalking also takes place over a longer period of time than harassment and includes numerous incidents that constitute a pattern of behavior, as opposed to a specific act or incident.  Very often stalking behavior includes harassment.[iii]

 

If you or someone you know is being stalked, SEEK HELP.  Also, if you think you are engaging in behavior that could be stalking, SEEK HELP.