Following an assault, it is important to know that what happened was not your fault. As a survivor of sexual violence, dating violence or stalking you have rights. What you choose to do, and who you choose to tell are always your choices and your choices alone.

You may also report to the NDSU University Police. Click HERE for more information about reporting to police

Should you wish, you have the right to report to the University. A complaint can be filed a few different ways. Complaints can be completed online by filling out the form HERE. You may also print your own hardcopy to be submitted to Equal Opportunity and Title IX Compliance Office. While it is encouraged that a report be submitted as soon as possible, we understand that due to the nature of sexual violence some reports may be delayed.

If you have questions about the form, or would like assistance in completing it, you may contact:

What Happens Next?

Within 3 days of receipt of a complaint/notice of discrimination/harassment or retaliation including sexual assault, an impartial investigator from the Equal Oppourtunity and Title IX Compliance Office office will reach out to the survivor, referred to as the Complainant, to offer campus and community resources, explain the investigation process and determine if the survivor wishes to move forward with an investigation.

In many cases, a survivor may have told a professor, RA, or other staff member about their assault without realizing that university personnel (with the exception of Student Health Service, Counseling Center, and Sexual Assault Prevention and Advocacy staff) are mandated to report the incident to the university. Contacting all survivors following receipt of a report ensures that survivors are treated equally and given a chance to learn about resources and their rights. Just because a survivor is contacted by Equal Opportunity and Title IX Complainace Office following a report does not mean that they have to cooperate with the office or begin an investigation.

Should the survivor wish to move forward the Equal Opportunity and Title IX Complaince Office staff will begin review. During the review, the investigator will schedule times to meet with both the Complainant, the accused individual(s) (Responding Party) and any witnesses. Both parties will have the chance to both access and present evidence during this time. The goal of this process is to determine if there is “reasonable cause that a violation has occurred”. Following the investigation a Final Investigative Report will recommend a dismissal of the complaint or recommendation that charges be pursued. The Final Investigative Report will be forwarded to Student Affairs.

Flowchart of Title IX Investigation for Student Cases 

Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Resource Guide

Important Things to Know

• Survivors may fear reporting because of alcohol or drug use during the incident. In these cases, NDSU is most concerned about the violent act. To alleviate fear of reporting, Policy 162 Section 2.8 states “an individual who reports sexual harassment, gender-based harassment or sexual misconduct, either as a complainant or as a witness, will not be subject to disciplinary action for any violation of NDSU’s Policy 155 against alcohol and other drugs in connection with the reported incident”
   
• In addition to their rights on campus, survivors also have the right to pursue justice in the legal system. Survivors may choose to file reports with both the university and law enforcement, one or neither. Your choice to work with law enforcement will not influence the outcome of a complaint on campus or vice versa.
   
• Faculty and staff also have the right to live, learn, and work in an environment free from sexual violence/harassment, discrimination or bias. If you are a faculty or staff member and would like to file a complaint you may do so by completing the NDSU Discrimination/Harassment/Retaliation/Sexual Misconduct Complaint Formor by reaching out to The Village through the Employee Assistance Program.
   
• In some cases an individual may wish to not proceed with an investigation. The University will attempt to honor this request but in some, limited cases may determine that because of “concern for the safety or well-being of the broader University community” the University needs to conduct an investigation. Regardless of whether the University chooses to proceed with an investigation, an individual will not be compelled to participate.

Anonymous Reporting

Students may submit an anonymous report of sexual assault or intimate partner violence along with other acts of bias bigotry or hate. To complete an anonymous report students can visit the reporting form HERE. 

According to Policy 156: Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Procedures section 3.1.5 “NDSU may be limited in its ability to respond to a report if it is submitted anonymously. Additionally, in very limited circumstances, NDSU may need to take action to learn the identity of an individual who submitted an anonymous report.” If you want would like the university to take action please consider filling out the Discrimination/Harassment/Retaliation/Sexual Misconduct Complaint Form.

Survivors always have the right to file a report should they experience sexual violence, dating/domestic violence, or stalking. Following an assault a survivor may file a report with the police, the university, both or neither. The decision to file a report is always up to the survivor. 

To Begin a Report:           

• Call 911 - If you are in immediate danger 911 can assist in getting help to your location. Remember your safety is always paramount.
• Call local police- Reports will be handled by police in the jurisdiction where the crime occurred. If you are unsure of which department to contact, University Police can assist. Find contact information for local law enforcement HERE under Community Resources. NOTE: NDSU police will notify the Equal Oppourtunity and Title IX Compliance Office of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence or stalking on campus. You do not have to work with Title IX if you do not want to file a Title IX report on campus.
  • NDSU University Police - 701-231-8998
• At the emergency room - Following an assault some survivors choose to go to the hospital for medical care and/or evidence collection. While at the ER you can tell staff you wish to speak with law enforcement. Going to the hospital and speaking with police are always the survivor’s choice.

Following the initial call, a responding officer will come to you to speak about the assault and gather basic preliminary information including the nature of the report, general timeline of events and information about the perpetrator. Depending on the department, the officer may be trained in how to work with survivors of sexual assault in a trauma informed manner.

When speaking with the officer you have the right to have someone with you. This could be an advocate, friend, family member or someone you trust.

If you choose to pursue charges, following your initial report a detective will contact you to gather more detailed information about the case and discuss options going forward. Following an investigation all evidence will be turned over to the local states attorney for the county in which the crime occurred. State’s Attorney will decide if the case merits going to trial. Declining to move forward with prosecution is not an indication that a crime did not occur but that the State’s Attorney did not feel there is enough evidence to go to trial.

At any point when meeting with law enforcement a survivor may assert their constitutional rights under Marsy’s Law. The survivor should receive a Marsy’s Law card from law enforcement during their initial contact. Survivors “must affirmatively assert his or her rights” for Marsy’s Law protections to take effect. For more information about Marsy’s Law in North Dakota visit https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/public-safety/victims-rights-marsys-law/

Note: Not all states have Marsy’s Law protections for survivors. If the crime occurred outside of North Dakota you can check if that state has Marsy’s Law here 

More general information about what to expect in the criminal justice system https://www.rainn.org/reporting-and-criminal-justice-system

NDSU Policy

162: Sexual and Gender-Based Harassment, Sexual Misconduct
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/162.pdf

“This policy prohibits sexual harassment, gender-based harassment and sexual misconduct by or against any student, employee or third party. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, whether verbal, written, graphic, physical or otherwise, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive that it unreasonably interferes with, limits, or deprives an individual from participating in or benefitting from the University’s education or employment programs and/or activities.”

Important Sections:

• Section 12-Definitions
• Section 9- Privacy and Confidentiality
• Section 7-Notice of Mandated Reporting

**This policy expressly prohibits retaliation against a good faith report

156.1: Title IX Complaint Precedures
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/156_1.pdf

100: Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/100.pdf

“NDSU prohibits discrimination and harassment against any individual on the basis of age, color, gender expression/identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, public assistance status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, status as a U.S. veteran, or participation in lawful activity off the employer's premises during nonworking hours which is not in direct conflict with the essential business-related interests of the employer.”

156: Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation Complaint Procedures
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/156.pdf

“A central purpose of these complaint procedures is to provide a system at NDSU to conduct adequate, reliable, and impartial investigations of complaints of discrimination.”

**This policy expressly prohibits retaliation against a good faith report

North Dakota State Laws

• For complete listing of North Dakota laws: https://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t12-1.html

North Dakota defines consent as:

12.1-17-08. Consent as a defense.

1. When conduct is an offense because it causes or threatens bodily injury, consent to such conduct or to the infliction of such injury by all persons injured or threatened by the conduct is a defense if:

a. Neither the injury inflicted nor the injury threatened is such as to jeopardize life or seriously impair health;
b. The conduct and the injury are reasonably foreseeable hazards of joint participation in a lawful athletic contest or competitive sport; or
c. The conduct and the injury are reasonably foreseeable hazards of an occupation or profession or of medical or scientific experimentation conducted by recognized methods, and the persons subjected to such conduct or injury, having been made aware of the risks involved, consent to the performance of the conduct or the infliction of the injury.

2. Assent does not constitute consent, within the meaning of this section, if:

a. It is given by a person who is legally incompetent to authorize the conduct charged to constitute the offense and such incompetence is manifest or known to the actor;
b. It is given by a person who by reason of youth, mental disease or defect, or intoxication is manifestly unable or known by the actor to be unable to make a reasonable judgment as to the nature or harmfulness of the conduct charged to constitute the offense; or
c. It is induced by force, duress, or deception.

North Dakota defines rape as:

12.1-20-03. Gross sexual imposition

1. A person who engages in a sexual act with another, or who causes another to engage in a sexual act, is guilty of an offense if:

a. That person compels the victim to submit by force or by threat of imminent death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping, to be inflicted on any human being;
b. That person or someone with that person's knowledge has substantially impaired the victim's power to appraise or control the victim's conduct by administering or employing without the victim's knowledge intoxicants, a controlled substance as defined in chapter 19-03.1, or other means with intent to prevent resistance;
c. That person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the victim is unaware that a sexual act is being committed upon him or her;
d. The victim is less than fifteen years old; or
e. That person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the other person suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders him or her incapable of understanding the nature of his or her conduct.

2. A person who engages in sexual contact with another, or who causes another to engage in sexual contact, is guilty of an offense if:

a. The victim isless than fifteen years old;
b. That person compels the victim to submit by force or by threat of imminent death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping, to be inflicted on any human being; or Page No. 1
c. That person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the victim is unaware that sexual contact is being committed on the victim.

3.        a. An offense under this section is a class AA felony if in the course of the offense the actor inflicts serious bodily injury upon the victim, if the actor's conduct violates subdivision a of subsection 1, or if the actor's conduct violates subdivision d of subsection 1 and the actor was at least twenty-two years of age at the time of the offense. For any conviction of a class AA felony under subdivision a of subsection 1, the court shall impose a minimum sentence of twenty years' imprisonment, with probation supervision to follow the incarceration. The court may deviate from the mandatory sentence if the court finds that the sentence would impose a manifest injustice and the defendant has accepted responsibility for the crime or cooperated with law enforcement. However, a defendant convicted of a class AA felony under this section may not be sentenced to serve less than five years of incarceration.
b. Otherwise the offense is a class A felony.

4. If, as a result of injuries sustained during the course of an offense under this section, the victim dies, the offense is a class AA felony, for which the maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole must be imposed unless the defendant was a juvenile at the time of the offense.

North Dakota defines sexual assault as:

12.1-20-07. Sexual assault.

1. A person who knowingly has sexual contact with another person, or who causes another person to have sexual contact with that person, is guilty of an offense if:

a. That person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the contact is offensive to the other person;
b. That person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the other person suffers from a mental disease or defect which renders that other person incapable of understanding the nature of that other person's conduct;
c. That person or someone with that person's knowledge has substantially impaired the victim's power to appraise or control the victim's conduct, by administering or employing without the victim's knowledge intoxicants, a controlled substance as defined in chapter 19-03.1, or other means for the purpose of preventing resistance;
d. The other person is in official custody or detained in a hospital, prison, or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over that other person;
e. The other person is a minor, fifteen years of age or older, and the actor is the other person's parent, guardian, or is otherwise responsible for general supervision of the other person's welfare; or
f. The other person is a minor, fifteen years of age or older, and the actor is an adult.

2. The offense is:

a. A class C felony if the actor's conduct violates subdivision b, c, d, or e of subsection 1, or subdivision f of subsection 1 if the adult is at least twenty-two years of age; or
b. A class A misdemeanor if the actor's conduct violates subdivision f of subsection 1 if the adult is at least eighteen years of age and not twenty-two years of age or older, or if the actor's conduct violates subdivision a of subsection 1.

North Dakota defines domestic violence as:

14-07.1-01. Definitions.

1. "Department" means the state department of health.

2. "Domestic violence" includes physical harm, bodily injury, sexual activity compelled by physical force, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, sexual activity compelled by physical force, or assault, not committed in self-defense, on the complaining family or household members.

3. "Domestic violence sexual assault organization" means a private, nonprofit organization whose primary purpose is to provide emergency housing, twenty-four-hour crisis lines, advocacy, supportive peer counseling, community education, and referral services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

4. "Family or household member" means a spouse, family member, former spouse, parent, child, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are in a dating relationship, persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past, persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they are or have been married or have lived together at any time, and, for the purpose of the issuance of a domestic violence protection order, any other person with a sufficient relationship to the abusing person as determined by the court under section 14-07.1-02.

5. "Health officer" means the state health officer of the department.

6. "Law enforcement officer" means a public servant authorized by law or by a government agency to enforce the law and to conduct or engage in investigations of violations of law.

7. "Predominant aggressor" means an individual who is the most significant, not necessarily the first, aggressor.

8. "Willfully" means willfully as defined in section 12.1-02-02.

North Dakota defines stalking as:

12.1-17-07.1. Stalking.

1. As used in this section:

a. "Course of conduct" means a pattern of conduct consisting of two or more acts evidencing a continuity of purpose. The term does not include constitutionally protected activity.
b. "Immediate family" means a spouse, parent, child, or sibling. The term also includes any other individual who regularly resides in the household or who within the prior six months regularly resided in the household.

c. "Stalk" means:

(1) To engage in an intentional course of conduct directed at a specific person which frightens, intimidates, or harasses that person and which serves no legitimate purpose. The course of conduct may be directed toward that person or a member of that person's immediate family and must cause a reasonable person to experience fear, intimidation, or harassment; or

(2) The unauthorized tracking of the person's movements or location through the use of a global positioning system or other electronic means that would cause a reasonable person to be frightened, intimidated, or harassed and which serves no legitimate purpose.

2. A person may not intentionally stalk another person.

3. In any prosecution under this section, it is not a defense that the actor was not given actual notice that the person did not want the actor to contact or follow the person; nor is it a defense that the actor did not intend to frighten, intimidate, or harass the person. An attempt to contact or follow a person after being given actual notice that the person does not want to be contacted or followed is prima facie evidence that the actor intends to stalk that person.

4. In any prosecution under this section, it is a defense that a private investigator licensed under chapter 43-30 or a peace officer licensed under chapter 12-63 was acting within the scope of employment.

5. If a person claims to have been engaged in a constitutionally protected activity, the court shall determine the validity of the claim as a matter of law and, if found valid, shall exclude evidence of the activity.

6. a. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class C felony if:

(1) The person previously has been convicted of violating section 12.1-17-01, 12.1-17-01.1, 12.1-17-02, 12.1-17-04, 12.1-17-05, or 12.1-17-07, or a similar offense from another court in North Dakota, a court of record in the United States, or a tribal court, involving the victim of the stalking;
(2) The stalking violates a court order issued under chapter 14-07.1 protecting the victim of the stalking, if the person had notice of the court order; or
(3) The person previously has been convicted of violating this section.

b. If subdivision a does not apply, a person who violates this section is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

North Dakota defines Revenge Porn as:

12.1-17-07.2. Distribution of intimate images without or against consent - Penalty.

1. As used in this section:

a. "Distribute" means selling, exhibiting, displaying, wholesaling, retailing, providing, giving, granting admission to, providing access to, or otherwise transferring or presenting an image to another individual, with or without consideration.
b. "Hosting company" means a person that provides services or facilities for storing or distributing content over the internet without editorial or creative alteration of the content.
c. "Intimate image" means any visual depiction, photograph, film, video, recording, picture, or computer or computer-generated image or picture, whether made or produced by electronic, mechanical, or other means, that depicts:

(1) Exposed human male or female genitals or pubic area, with less than an opaque covering;
(2) A female breast with less than an opaque covering, or any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola; or
(3) The individual engaged in any sexually explicit conduct.

d. "Service provider" means an internet service provider, including a person who leases or rents a wire or cable for the transmission of data.

e. "Sexually explicit conduct" means actual or simulated:

(1) Sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex;
(2) Masturbation;
(3) Bestiality;
(4) Sadistic or masochistic activities;
(5) Exhibition of the genitals, pubic region, buttocks, or female breast of any individual;
(6) Visual depiction of nudity or partial nudity;
(7) Fondling or touching of the genitals, pubic region, buttocks, or female breast; or
(8) Explicit representation of the defecation or urination functions.

f. "Simulated sexually explicit conduct" means a feigned or pretended act of sexually explicit conduct that duplicates, within the perception of an average person, the appearance of an actual act of sexually explicit conduct.

2. A person commits the offense of distribution of intimate images if the person knowingly or intentionally distributes to any third party any intimate image of an individual eighteen years of age or older, if:

a. The person knows that the depicted individual has not given consent to the person to distribute the intimate image;
b. The intimate image was created by or provided to the person under circumstances in which the individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy; and
c. Actual emotional distress or harm is caused to the individual as a result of the distribution under this section.

3. This section does not apply to:

a. Lawful practices of law enforcement agencies;
b. Prosecutorial agency functions;
c. The reporting of a criminal offense;
d. Court proceedings or any other judicial proceeding;
e. Lawful and generally accepted medical practices and procedures;
f. An intimate image if the individual portrayed in the image voluntarily allows public exposure of the image; or
g. An intimate image that is portrayed in a lawful commercial setting.

4. This section also does not apply to:

a. An internet service provider or interactive computer service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 230(f)(2);
b. A provider of an electronic communications service, as defined in 18 U.S.C. 2510; Page No. 4
c. A telecommunications service, information service, or mobile service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 153, including a commercial mobile service, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 332(d);
d. A cable operator, as defined in 47 U.S.C. 552, if:

(1) The distribution of an intimate image by the cable operator occurs only incidentally through the operator's function of:

(a) Transmitting or routing data from one person to another person; or
(b) Providing a connection between one person and another person;

(2) The operator does not intentionally aid or abet in the distribution of the intimate image; and

(3) The operator does not knowingly receive from or through a person who distributes the intimate image a fee greater than the fee generally charged by the operator, as a specific condition for permitting the person to distribute the intimate image; or

e. A hosting company, if:

(1) The distribution of an intimate image by the hosting company occurs only incidentally through the hosting company's function of providing data storage space or data caching to a person;

(2) The hosting company does not intentionally engage, aid, or abet in the distribution of the intimate image; and

(3) The hosting company does not knowingly receive from or through a person who distributes the intimate image a fee greater than the fee generally charged by the provider, as a specific condition for permitting the person to distribute, store, or cache the intimate image.

5. Distribution of an intimate image is a class A misdemeanor.

***Emphasis added

For more information regarding Title IX and Non-descrimination policies, please visit the NDSU Equal Oppourtnunity and Title IX Complainace Office.