Sexual Harassment Prevention and Resolution Policy

Preamble
The Johns Hopkins University is committed to providing its staff, faculty, and students the opportunity to pursue excellence in their academic and professional endeavors. This can only exist when each member of our community is assured an atmosphere of mutual respect, one in which they are judged solely on criteria related to academic or job performance. The university is committed to providing such an environment, free from all forms of harassment and discrimination. Each member of the community is responsible for fostering mutual respect, for being familiar with this policy, and for refraining from conduct that violates this policy.

Sexual harassment, whether between people of different sexes or the same sex, is defined to include but is not limited to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other behavior of a sexual nature when:

submission to such conduct is made implicitly or explicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or participation in an educational program;
submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for personnel decisions or for academic evaluation or advancement;
such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or educational environment.

Fundamental to the university’s purpose is the free and open exchange of ideas. It is not, therefore, the university’s purpose, in promulgating this policy to inhibit free speech or the free communication of ideas by members of the academic community.

Policy
The University will not tolerate sexual harassment a form of discrimination, a violation of federal and state law, and a serious violation of university policy. In accordance with its educational mission, the university works to educate its community regarding sexual harassment. The university encourages individuals to report incidents of sexual harassment and provides a network of confidential consultants by which individuals can report complaints of sexual harassment. The means by which complaints are resolved can range from informal to formal.

The university encourages reporting of all perceived incidents of sexual harassment, regardless of who the alleged offender may be. Individuals who either believe they have become the victim of sexual harassment or have witnessed sexual harassment should discuss their concerns with any member of the Sexual Harassment Prevention and Resolution system. Complainants are assured that problems of this nature will be treated in a confidential manner, subject to the university’s legal obligation to respond appropriately to any and all allegations of sexual harassment.

The university prohibits acts of reprisal against anyone involved in lodging a complaint of sexual harassment. Conversely, the university considers filing intentionally false reports of sexual harassment a violation of this policy.

The university will promptly respond to all complaints of sexual harassment. When necessary, the university will institute disciplinary proceedings against the offending individual, which may result in a range of sanctions, up to and including termination of university affiliation.

Complaints of sexual harassment may be brought to Susan Boswell, dean of students, Levering Hall, 410-516-8208; Ray Gillian, assistant provost and director of equal opportunity for the university; or Kevin McDonald, associate director for compliance and conflict resolution, 130 Garland Hall, 410-516-8075, TTY: 410-516-6225.