Setting aside varying definitions between jurisdictions, “sexual assault” can be defined as the following: any physical contact of a sexual nature with another person without their consent (i.e. groping, rape, forcing or coercing a sexual act, etc.). Sexual assault can also include a sexual act performed in front of someone without their consent (i.e. masturbation or indecent exposure) or even the demanding of a sexual act without that person’s consent.

This definition of sexual assault is an umbrella term that includes a wide range of sexual misconduct. For example, rape—which is generally defined as sexual penetration without another’s consent—falls under the umbrella of sexual assault. Child sexual abuse would also fall under the umbrella definition of sexual assault.

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Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs or activities. Title IX is a shorthand for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972—a federal statute codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1681. It was passed under the authority of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and was the natural continuation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Title IX mandates that: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Title IX’s prohibition of discrimination based on sex includes a student or employee’s right to be free from sexual harassment or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual coercion.

Hayley offers Title IX advising on a limited basis. Hayley also represents victims in a Title IX lawsuit against a school on a limited basis.

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Human trafficking—modern day slavery—remains a prevailing issue across the world and the United States is not immune. In 2017, the International Labor Organization reported almost 25 million are trafficked a year worldwide. Victims of human trafficking have been identified in cities, suburbs, and rural areas in all fifty states in the United States.

Human trafficking is a crime against the person and contrary to popular belief, does not require the movement of a person. Human trafficking takes many forms. Most commonly, trafficking will take the form of either: (1) sexual exploitation and/or sex trafficking (forced, fraudulent, or coerced commercial sex or sex with minors) or (2) forced labor and/or involuntary and indebted servitude.

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In the employment context, sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances imposed upon an employee by someone in a position of authority or colleague. Such unwanted sexual advances may come in the form of sexual jokes, repeated offensive comments or looks, intentional body contact, indecent propositions, or forced sexual relations.

At the federal level, sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Under Title VII, an employer cannot discriminate with regard to any term condition or privilege of employment, and it protects employees against discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, and religion. Sexual harassment is a form of sex-based discrimination and is therefore prohibited under Title VII.

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