Stanford Policy
Sexual Assault
Admin Guide Policy 23.3- Sexual assault is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at Stanford University.
- The University urges an individual who has experienced a sexual assault to make an official report. A report of a sexual assault will be dealt with promptly. Confidentiality will be maintained to the greatest extent possible.
- The University is committed to providing information regarding on- and off-campus services and resources. Any of the resources listed in this policy can assist a person to access the full range of services available.
- All students, faculty and staff are subject to this policy. Violators will be subject to discipline up to and including termination, expulsion, or other appropriate institutional sanctions. Prosecution by external authorities may also occur. For a student, off-campus conduct may be subject to campus disciplinary proceedings.
- The entire policy is available online at http://adminguide.stanford.edu/23_3.pdf.
- Please note that Stanford is in the process of revising this policy to update resources and protocols. This website currently has the most current policy.
Sexual Harassment
Admin Guide Policy 23.2- Stanford University strives to provide a place of work and study free of sexual harassment, intimidation or exploitation. Where sexual harassment is found to have occurred, the University will act to stop the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and discipline and/or take other appropriate action against those responsible.
- See also: Sexual Harassment Policy Office web page at http://www.stanford.edu/dept/shpo.
Federal Legislation
Violence Against Women Act of 1993 (S. 11 and H.R. 1133), introduced by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE) and Barbara Boxer (D-DA) in the Senate and by Representatives Patricia Schroeder (D-CO), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Constance Morella (R-MD) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) in the House. Includes provisions to: train police, prosecutors and judges on gender bias in the judicial system; authorize funds to assist states and police to develop effective law enforcement strategies; increase funding for rape prevention and education; require interstate enforcement of protection orders; create a National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women; and declare violent crimes based on gender a violation of the victim's federal civil rights.
For information on legislation affecting women, contact (send a pre-addressed label with your request):
Congressional Caucus of Women's Issues
2471 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-6740
Senate Document Room
B 04
Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-7860
House Document Room
B 18
Ford Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3456
*Source: Center for Women Policy Studies, Washington, D.C.
California State Legislation
CA Penal Code Section 261. (a) Rape is an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator, under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Where a person is incapable, because of a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent, and this is known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the act. Notwithstanding the existence of a conservatorship pursuant to the provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), the prosecuting attorney shall prove, as an element of the crime, that a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability rendered the alleged victim incapable of giving consent.
(2) Where it is accomplished against a person's will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the person or another.
(3) Where a person is prevented from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or reasonably should have been known by the accused.
(4) Where a person is at the time unconscious of the nature of the act, and this is known to the accused. As used in this paragraph, "unconscious of the nature of the act" means incapable of resisting because the victim meets one of the following conditions:
(A) Was unconscious or asleep.
(B) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant that the act occurred.
(C) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's fraud in fact.
(D) Was not aware, knowing, perceiving, or cognizant of the essential characteristics of the act due to the perpetrator's fraudulent representation that the sexual penetration served a professional purpose when it served no professional purpose.
(5) Where a person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim's spouse, and this belief is induced by any artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused, with intent to induce the belief.
(6) Where the act is accomplished against the victim's will by threatening to retaliate in the future against the victim or any other person, and there is a reasonable possibility that the perpetrator will execute the threat. As used in this paragraph, "threatening to retaliate" means a threat to kidnap or falsely imprison, or to inflict extreme pain, serious bodily injury, or death.
(7) Where the act is accomplished against the victim's will by threatening to use the authority of a public official to incarcerate, arrest, or deport the victim or another, and the victim has a reasonable belief that the perpetrator is a public official. As used in this paragraph, "public official" means a person employed by a governmental agency who has the authority, as part of that position, to incarcerate, arrest, or deport another. The perpetrator does not actually have to be a public official.
(b) As used in this section, "duress" means a direct or implied threat of force, violence, danger, or retribution sufficient to coerce a reasonable person of ordinary susceptibilities to perform an act which otherwise would not have been performed, or acquiesce in an act to which one otherwise would not have submitted. The total circumstances, including the age of the victim, and his or her relationship to the defendant, are factors to consider in appraising the existence of duress.
(c) As used in this section, "menace" means any threat, declaration, or act which shows an intention to inflict an injury upon another.
P.C. Section 261.5. Statutory Rape/Unlawful Intercourse with a Minor - Any sexual intercoure with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator where the person is under the age of 18.
P.C. Section 262.* Rape of a person who is the spouse of a perpetrator is an act of sexual intercourse under either of the following circumstances:
- where the spouse resists but is overcome by force or violence.
- where a spouse is threatened with great and immediately bodily harm and there is apparent power of execution so that s/he cannot resist.
* There can be no arrest or prosecution under this law unless the violation is reported to a peace officer or D.A. within 30 days of the violation.
P.C. Section 264. As defined in Section 261, rape is punishable by 3, 6, or 8 years in state prison.
As defined in Section 262 (spousal rape), rape is punishable by not more than one year in the county jail or in state prison for 3, 6, or 8 years.
If the defendant committed rape and also inflicted great bodily injury on the victim, the punishment is 15 years-to-life in the state prison.
Other crimes of domestic and sexual violence:
P.C. Section 289. Rape by instrument - Use of any object to commit rape.
P.C. Section 288.a. Oral Copulation - Contact of the mouth of one person with
P.C. Section 286. Sodomy - Sexual conduct consisting of contact between the penis of one person and the anus of another person.
P.C. Section 288. Child Sexual Assault - Committing any of the sexual assault crimes on a child of 14 years or younger.
P.C. Section 285. Incest - Sexual relations between 2 people in the same family, eg. father-daughter, mother-son, brother-sister, cousin-cousin, and step-relations also.
P.C. Section 207. Kidnap - To seize and carry away someone by unlawful force.
P.C. Section 204. Assault - Unlawful attempt to commit a violent injury upon another person.
P.C. Section 242. Battery - Willful, unlawful use of force or violence upon another person.
P.C. Section 236. False Imprisonment - Unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another person.
Additional legislature on sexual assault and domestic violence:
ACR 64 - Sexual Assault Awareness Month (Mazzoni) - A California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (Cal CASA)-authored resolution to proclaim April 1996 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Cal CASA will ensure that this resolution is renewed each year by the legislature.
SB 857 - Sexual Assault/ Domestic Violence Medical Training Centers (Thompson) - Authorizes the Office of Criminal Justice Planning to fund two hospital-based training centers (one in the north and one in the south to train medical personnel in how to perform medical evidentiary exams of victims of child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, elder abuse and domestic violence. The bill provides for training for law enforcement officers, district attorneys, public defenders, investigative social workers and judges on medical evidentiary examination procedures and the interpretation of findings and stipulates that the training will be developed in collaboration with Cal CASA, as well as other statewide associations and agencies. The two hospitals will be selected via a competitive bidding process and will receive $700,000 per year per hospital (from the general fund) on an on-going bases. The selection process will occur over a two-year period. During the first year, FY 96-97, the northern site will be selected and in FY 97-98 the southern site will be determined.
SB 1444 - Spousal Rape/Victims' Right to an Advocate (Solis) - Indicates that a victim of sexual assault or spousal rape has the right to have a certified rape crisis advocate and at least one other person of the victim's choosing present at any evidentiary, medical, or physical examination or interview by law enforcement authorities or defense attorneys. Also contains numerous provisions regarding spousal rape to correct inequities in the law regarding victim privacy issues, physicians' ability to practice medicine, teachers' ability to maintain their credentials, possession of a firearm, and other related provision.
SB 2161 - Sex Offenders (Leslie) - Provides that a registered sex offender is relieved of any further duty to register upon receipt of the certificate of rehabilitation if the offender is not in custody, on parole, or on probation. This increases the conditions which a sex offender must meet before he can be taken off the sex offender registration list. The bill also adds sex offense crimes against a child under 14 years of age to the list of sex offenses which qualify under the sexually violent predator civil commitment process.
AB 692 - Pupils: Expulsion for Sexual Assault (Kuehl) - Mandates the expulsion of a pupil found to have committed or attempted to commit specified acts of sexual assault at school or at a school activity. The bill also requires school districts to establish specified procedures relating to the testimony of a complaining witness in an expulsion hearing where there is a charge of committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault offense.
AB 1490 - Unlawful Sexual Intercourse: Civil penalties (Caldera) - Makes adults who engage in an act of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor liable for civil penalties. This bill is known as the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 1995.
AB 1562 - Sex Offenders: Disclosure by Law Enforcement Officers (Alby) - Authorizes law enforcement officers to disclose information regarding specified sex offenders that is necessary to protect the public, which may include the identities and locations of these offenders. The bill requires the Department of Justice to provide a computerized listing of sex offenders to specified law enforcement agencies. This system will be available to the public.
AV 1608 - Victim Response Center in San Fernando Valley (Katz) - Authorizes the Office of Criminal Justice Planning to disburse $500,000 to the San Fernando Sexual Assault Response Team at Mission Community Hospital for the establishment of a one-year pilot project to establish a centralized response center for sexual assault and domestic violence victims.
AB 1901 - Sex offenders: Rehabilitation and pardons (Alby) - Provides that the court has the discretion, rather than the duty, to declare that a sex offender has been rehabilitated. Also, grants the courts discretion, rather than the duty, to recommend that the Governor grant a full pardon to a sex offender. This bill toughens the standard for declaring a sex offender "rehabilitated" or "pardoned" and reinforces the sex offender registration statute.
AB 2127 - Sex Offenders: Registration (Alby) - Requires that sex offenders be registered after conviction of sexual battery or attempted sexual battery. Also requires these persons to provide blood specimens, saliva samples, thumbprints and palm prints to the Department of Justice.
AB 2328 - Parole: Violent Offenders Notification of Release (Hoge) - Requires the Department of Corrections to supply a form to designated agencies for use by victims and witnesses to request a notice regarding the release, escape or death of the violent offender. The county district attorney, probation department and victim/witness assistance program shall confer and determine which one of their agencies shall inform each victim or witness of their right to receive a notice.
AB 3130 - Sexually Violent Predators (Boland) - Addresses issues related to the parole of a sexually violent predator, including length of parole and required outpatient treatment. this bill also extends the waiver of civil and criminal liability to the Board of Prison Terms for any criminal acts committed by persons on parole or judicial commitment status who receive supervision or treatment.
AB 3339 - Sex Offenses: Punishment (Hoge) - Provides that any person guilty of a first conviction of specified sex offenses of a victim under 13 years of age may be punished by medroxyprogestrone acetate treatment (chemical castration), upon parole, in addition to any punishment prescribed by law. Treatment shall be continued until the Department of Corrections demonstrates to the Board of Prison Terms that it is no longer necessary. The offender may voluntarily choose to undergo castration surgery rather than the chemical equivalent.
To obtain a copy of the bills listed above, contact the Legislative Bill Service at (916) 445-2323.
**Source: Legislative Report from the 1996 Annual Report of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Stanford Policy | Federal Legislation | California State Legislation
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