Federal & Massachusetts Laws

The following laws pertain to sexual violence, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and retaliation. 

Federal Laws

Title IX

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex against any person in education programs and activities receiving federal funding. For further information regarding Title IX, please view the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights website.

The Clery Act

The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (“Clery Act”) requires colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to report annual statistics regarding crimes that occur on or near their campuses. It also contains requirements for policies, requirements for conducting disciplinary proceedings, and prevention and awareness programs related to sexual assaults, dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. 

View the College’s Clery Act information

Violence Against Women’s Act

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is a landmark US federal law enacted in 1994 that aims to improve criminal justice responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, with reauthorizations in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2022. 

VAWA seeks to improve criminal justice responses to violence against women, increase services for victims, and hold perpetrators accountable. VAWA provides protections for battered immigrants, allowing them to petition for green cards independently of their abusive spouse. VAWA provides housing protections for people applying for or living in units subsidized by the federal government who have experienced domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  

Massachusetts Laws

For the purpose of the university’s internal Title IX grievance procedures, alleged incidents of sexual violence, sexual harassment, gender-based harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and retaliation are determined by the definitions set forth in the Title IX Sexual Harassment Policy.

However, an individual who believes that they have been the victim of a crime may also choose to pursue a criminal investigation through local law enforcement. In those instances, the criminal law definitions will apply: 

Sexual Assault

Massachusetts criminal law uses the term “rape.”  The definition encompasses (1) the penetration of any orifice by any body part or object (2) by force (or threat) and (3) without consent. Rape also includes instances where the victim is incapacitated (“wholly insensible so as to be incapable of consenting”) and the perpetrator is aware or should have known of the incapacitation. Relatedly, under M.G.L. c. 268, § 40, a person who knows that an individual is a victim of an aggravated rape and is at the scene of the crime, must report the crime to law enforcement as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Hate Crimes

Massachusetts define a hate crime as any criminal act coupled with overt actions motivated by bigotry and bias including, but not limited to, a threatened, attempted or completed overt act motivated at least in part by racial, religious, ethnic, handicap, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation prejudice, or which otherwise deprives another person of his constitutional rights by threats, intimidation or coercion, or which seek to interfere with or disrupt a person's exercise of constitutional rights through harassment or intimidation.