Definitions

Sexual Harassment:

Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. Conduct is unwelcome if the complainant did not request or invite it and regarded the conduct as undesirable or offensive; acquiescence in the conduct or failure to complain does not always mean that the conduct was welcome. Sexual harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, other verbal, nonverbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature or with sexual overtones, and gender-based harassment based on sex or sex-stereotyping.

Sexual Violence:

Sexual violence includes dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Dating Violence:

Dating violence is violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim. Dating violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse. Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.

Domestic Violence:

Domestic violence is a felony or misdemeanor crime of violence committed 1) by a current or former spouse or intimate partner of the victim; 2) by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common; 3) by a person who is cohabitating with, or has cohabitated with, the victim as a spouse or intimate partner; 4) by a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred, or 5) by any other person against an adult or youth victim who is protected from that person’s acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction in which the crime of violence occurred.

The State of Florida defines domestic violence as any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member. “Family or household member” means 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 are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit. See Fla. Stat. § 741.28.

Sexual Assault:

Sexual assault is any sexual act directed against another person, without consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape.

Rape is the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus, with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim. This offense includes the rape of both males and females.

Fondling is the touching of the private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of his/her age or because of his/her temporary or permanent mental incapacity.

Incest is sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.

Statutory Rape is sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent. Florida statutory rape law is violated when a person has consensual sexual intercourse with an individual under age 18. However, there is an exemption for individuals close in age, which allows a person no older than age 23 to engage in consensual sexual intercourse with minors aged 16 or 17.

Stalking:

Stalking means engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to 1) fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others or 2) suffer substantial emotional distress. Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts in which the stalker directly, indirectly, or through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means, follows, monitors, observes, surveils, threatens, or communicates to or about a person, or interferes with a person’s property. Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim. Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

Consent:

Consent means a clear, unambiguous, and voluntary agreement between the parties engaging in specific sexual activity. A person is incapable of consent when he or she is: 1) mentally disabled; 2) mentally incapacitated; 3) physically helpless or incapacitated; or 4) under threat, coercion or force.

The State of Florida defines consent as intelligent, knowing, and voluntary consent, which does not include coerced submission. “Consent” shall not be deemed or construed to mean the failure by the alleged victim to offer physical resistance to the offender. Among other things, the State of Florida does not consider a victim to be able to consent if the victim is mentally defective, physically incapacitated, or has been administered any narcotic, anesthetic or other intoxicating substance that mentally or physically incapacitates the victim. See Fla. Stat. § 794.011.