Federal Clery Act Definitions of Dating Violence, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking

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The Clery Act defines the crimes against the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which includes domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, as follows:

Dating Violence

Violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim.

1. The existence of such a relationship shall be based on the reporting party’s statement and with consideration of the length of the relationship, the type of relationship, and the frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
2. For the purposes of this definition-
   1. Dating Violence includes, but is not limited to, sexual or physical abuse or the threat of such abuse.
   2. Dating violence does not include acts covered under the definition of domestic violence.
3. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of this section and §668.41, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting.

Domestic Violence

1. 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.
2. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of this section and §668.41, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting.

Sexual Assault

An offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest, or statutory rape as used in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program. Per the National Incident-Based Reporting System User Manual from the FBI UCR Program, a sex offense is “any sexual act directed against another person, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim if incapable of giving consent.”

• Rape is defined as 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.
• Fondling is defined as the touching of the private parts of another person for the purposes of sexual gratification, without the consent of the victim, including instances where the victim is incapable of giving consent because of their age or because of their temporary or permanent mental incapacity.
• Incest is defined as sexual intercourse between persons who are related to each other within the degrees wherein marriage is prohibited by law.
• Statutory Rape is defined as sexual intercourse with a person who is under the statutory age of consent.

Stalking

1. 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.
2. For the purposes of this definition-
   1. Course of conduct means two or more acts, including, but not limited to, acts 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.
   2. Reasonable person means a reasonable person under similar circumstances and with similar identities to the victim.
   3. Substantial emotional distress means significant mental suffering or anguish that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.
3. For the purposes of complying with the requirements of this section and section 668.41, any incident meeting this definition is considered a crime for the purposes of Clery Act reporting.