What is Power-Based Personal Violence?

We recognize the impact and prevalence of power-based personal violence including sexual violence/misconduct, interpersonal violence, domestic/relationship violence, stalking, and sexual harassment. Power-based personal violence can be committed by friends, partners, acquaintances, or strangers.

Power-based personal violence is rooted in the assertion of power, control, and/or intimidation with the intent to harm another. We believe that prevention is about action, education, and the continuum of care for our students, faculty, and staff.

Statistics for all crimes reported on RPCC campuses can be viewed in our Annual Campus Safety Report and Semi-annual Power Based Violence Report linked below. RPCC policies associated with Power Based violence can all be viewed on our Policies and Procedures page.

Annual Campus Safety Report 2024
Annual Campus Safety Report 2023
Chancellor’s Semi-Annual Power-Based Violence Report (Spring 2024)
Chancellor’s Semi-Annual Power-Based Violence Report (Spring 2023)
Chancellor’s Semi-Annual Power-Based Violence Report (Fall 2022)
Semi-Annual Power-Based Violence Report
Sex Crimes Data Report

---

Power-Based Violence Definitions

Title IX: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law that protects people from all forms of sex discrimination in education programs and activities receiving federal funding (including federal financial aid). Title IX states:

“No person in the United States, shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Sex discrimination: includes sexual harassment, sexual violence (like rape, sexual battery, sexual assault), and other forms of sexual misconduct. All of these forms of misconduct are prohibited by Title IX. At RPCC, the College’s Title IX Coordinator is responsible for ensuring Title IX Compliance. The Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Education (Office for Civil Rights | U.S. Department of Education)is the federal agency responsible for enforcing Title IX.

Consent: The River Parishes Community College defines consent as the willing and clear participation in a sexual act. Consent is a process of getting or giving permission for sexual intimacy. Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Legally consent requires several key elements, and if any of these are absent and a sex act occurs, it is a sexual assault.

Sexual Battery (SB): Oral, anal, or vaginal penetration by, or in union with, the sexual organ of another or the anal or vaginal penetration of another by any other object. Sexual battery is committed without a victim’s consent and may be committed with or without a weapon.

Sexual Assault (SA): Verbal or physical threat that the victim may be raped. Also includes unwanted touching of a sexual manner.

Sexual Misconduct (SM): Obscene or indecent behavior, which includes, but is not limited to, the display of sexual behavior that would reasonably be offensive to others. Specifically included in this category would be indecent exposure, public masturbation, sexual harassment, and displaying sexual materials in the company of others without their consent.

Relationship Violence (RV): A relationship in which there is physical, emotional, economic, or sexual abuse, intimidation, threats, isolation, destruction of personal property by one person in a relationship (but not family or household members to the other.

Domestic Violence (DV): Any offense inflicted by one family or household member including physical, emotional, economic, or sexual abuse, intimidation, threats, isolation, or destruction of personal property. “Family or household members” are defined as spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have resided together at any given time.

Stalking (ST): The willful, malicious, and repeated following, harassment, or cyberstalking of another person.

Harassment (HS): Unwanted contact with a person that causes them distress and serves no purpose.

Battery (BT): The offense of battery occurs when a person actually and intentionally touches or strikes another person against the will of the other; or intentionally causes bodily harm to another person.

Assault (AS): A verbal or physical threat to harm another person, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act that makes the person fear that such violence is imminent.

Sexual Harassment (SH): Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.