Section 1: Sexual Misconduct in Youth Activities | Accessible Version

This accessible text-based version of the training covers the same content available in the interactive training and is designed to be more easily accessed for learners using a screen-reader or needing a printed version. For other training accommodations, please contact the Office of Compliance at oc.compliancetraining@wisc.edu.

Introduction

Important Terms

In your role as a youth activity staff member or volunteer, it is important to understand the following terms:

custodial care: The responsibility for the care, supervision, guidance, or control of minor(s) on a temporary basis.
youth activity: An intentional interaction between one or more youth and a University employee or University appointed volunteer, and is sponsored or operated in part or in whole by the University, regardless of location or duration.
minor/youth: A person under the age of eighteen (18).

Why are you here?

You are responsible for the safety of youth while they are in your care.
You are an integral part of UW-Madison’s efforts to create a safe, healthy, and respectful environment for youth.

Section 1

Learning Objectives

In this section you will learn:

How to identify sexual misconduct in youth activities.
The prevalence and impact of sexual misconduct on youth.
The definitions in the UW-Madison Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence.

Important Terms

Several terms will be used frequently throughout this training. In your role as a youth activity staff member or volunteer, it is important to understand them. These terms are:

Sexual harassment and sexual violence: Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by state and federal law and by university policy. Sexual violence includes sexual assault, dating or domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, and related retaliation. We will further define these terms later on.
Victim, survivor, or complainant: A victim, survivor, or complainant is the person affected by the harassment or violence.
Accused, alleged, or respondent: The accused, alleged, or respondent is the person who might have committed the offense.

Impact on Victims/Survivors

Youth victims/survivors of sexual harassment and sexual violence may be impacted across several developmental areas.

Behavioral

Substance use
Early dating or sexual activity

Social

Withdrawal from peers or friends
Disengagement from social interactions

School/Activities

Difficulty concentrating
Declining performance
Absenteeism

Physical

Upset stomach
Difficulty sleeping or fatigue
Acute or chronic post-traumatic stress
Changes in eating patterns

Emotional

Anxiety or depression
Loss in confidence
Thoughts of self-harm

Demographics of Victims/Survivors

Sexual harassment and sexual violence affects everyone.

Boys

1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before age 18.
Sexual harassment is prevalent among youth entering high school, occurring at equivalent rates for boys (43%) and girls (44%).
The nature of sexual harassment victimization differs for boys and girls, with boys experiencing more homophobic slurs and being shown or given unwanted sexual pictures, messages, or notes.

Girls

1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before age 18.
The nature of sexual harassment victimization differs for boys and girls, with girls experiencing more unwanted comments, gestures, and touch.

LGBTQ+ Youth

LGBTQ+ youth experience higher rates of sexual violence (14.3%) compared to heterosexual youth (8.9%).
In one study, 81% of transgender youth experienced sexual harassment.

Black and Hispanic Youth

Black and Hispanic girls are more likely to experience sexual violence than white girls (12.01%, 11.23%, and 9.98% respectively).

Youth with Disabilities

In youth with physical disabilities:

Over 22% experience contact sexual violence, which is 1.74 times higher than youth without disabilities.
Over 40% experience non-contact sexual violence, which includes stalking, sexual exploitation, and some forms of sexual harassment.

Demographics of Victims/Survivors

Not all people experience violence at the same rate. LGBTQ+ youth, youth with disabilities, and Native American girls and women experience even higher rates of violence:

Perpetrator Statistics

Most of the maltreatment in youth-serving organizations is verbal abuse (63.2%). This includes outbursts of anger, shaming, and rejection that can cause psychological harm.

74% of teenage sexual assault victims/survivors said that someone they knew well had assaulted them.

Source from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Policy Definitions

So far, you’ve learned about the important terms that will be used frequently in this training and the prevalence and impact of sexual misconduct on youth. In order to understand what sexual misconduct looks like in youth activities, it’s important to learn definitions in the UW-Madison Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence. Next, you will review each definition, and will also see related examples. Sexual misconduct is prohibited in all of UW-Madison’s programs and activities.

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, unwelcome requests for sexual acts in exchange for something, and unwelcome physical behavior or words that are sexual.

Sexual Harassment Examples

unwanted pressure for sexual favors
unwanted deliberate touching, leaning over, cornering, pinching
unwanted sexual looks or gestures
unwanted letters, notes, emails, text messages, phone calls, or materials of a sexual nature
unwanted pressure for dates
unwanted sexual teasing, jokes, remarks, or questions
calling someone names of a sexual or affectionate nature
cat-calls
sexual comments
sharing sexual topics, jokes, stories, information in workplace conversations
sexual innuendos or stories
sharing or asking about sexual fantasies, preferences, experiences, histories
sexual comments about a person’s clothing, anatomy, appearance
kissing sounds, howling, smacking lips, licking lips and other body parts
telling stories, lies, rumors about a person’s sex life
touching or massaging the neck, shoulders, back, hair, body, clothing
hugging, kissing, patting, stroking
touching or rubbing oneself sexually around another person
standing close in personal space of another, brushing up against a person, standing in the way of a person, or blocking so that the person cannot leave the area, room, location
looking a person up and down sexually
staring at someone suggestively or sexually
sexually suggestive signals
sexual facial expressions, winking, blowing kisses
making sexual gestures with hands or through body movements
repeatedly asking a person out or on a date, lunch, break, etc. who is not interested

Types of Sexual Harassment

Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment: Behavior that substantially interferes with one’s program participation or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive program or education environment. It is illegal and unacceptable behavior.
Quid Pro Quo (“this for that”) Sexual Harassment: Occurs when submitting to or rejecting this behavior influences program or academic opportunities and decisions.

Sexual Harassment Scenario

You are facilitating an online youth activity using Zoom. A fellow staff member, Austin, is your co-facilitator. After the program ends, you notice a message that Austin sent to you. You realize that Austin meant to send the message to Mei, a youth participant from the activity, but he accidentally sent it to you instead. The message reads, “Mei, if you send me those nude pictures we talked about, I can get you a better score on this project.”

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault is sexual contact without consent. Consent is words or clear actions that openly show a person who is competent to give informed consent freely agrees to the sexual contact. Minors aged 15 and younger are not able to give consent. Sexual assault is a violation of federal and Wisconsin state laws as well as UW-Madison policies that govern employee, student, and volunteer behavior.

Sexual Assault Scenario

You are a staff member working on a youth sports camp. You are waiting for Dominic and Alex, two camp participants, to return from a bathroom break. You first see Dominic exiting the bathroom in a hurry, and a minute later you see Alex exiting the bathroom. Alex appears upset and you ask him if he is OK. Alex tells you that Dominic touched Alex’s private areas while they were washing their hands at the sink. Alex says, “I didn’t want this to happen. I don’t know what to do.”

Dating or Domestic Violence

Dating or domestic violence are also called intimate partner violence. An intimate partner is a current or past romantic partner, sexual partner, or spouse. Dating and domestic violence usually involve a pattern of power and control by one intimate partner over another. An abusive relationship can include emotional abuse, physical violence, threats, intimidation, isolation, and sexual assault. A single act of violence may be dating or domestic violence and also a violation of campus policy and state law.

Dating or Domestic Violence Scenario

You are a group leader for a one-day youth science program on campus. While walking from one building to another, you overhear Jamie and Elijah, two program participants, chatting. Jamie tells Elijah that she is excited to be on campus today, but she is worried that her boyfriend, who is in the same program, will see her making new friends. Jamie says, “He hates when I talk to new people. Last time I made a new friend, he squeezed my arm so hard it left a bruise. I want to break up with him but I’m scared of what he’ll do.”

Stalking

Stalking is a course of conduct that causes a person to reasonably suffer serious emotional distress or fear for the safety of others.

Stalking may include monitoring or pursuing contact through:

phone calls
text messages
social media
email
in person

Stalking Scenario

You are an Extension 4-H volunteer and your program involves community events that the 4-H participants will attend on a regular basis. During one event, Mateo, a high school 4-H participant, comes up to you and asks if he can go home early for the day. You ask if anything is wrong, and Mateo says that Ruby, a fellow classmate, has shown up to the event. Mateo explains that Ruby won’t stop texting and calling him and she continues to follow him to every 4-H event, even though she isn’t in 4-H. Mateo appears worried and says, “She has started to threaten me if I don’t respond to her messages. I just don’t know what she is going to do next.”

Sexual Exploitation

Sexual exploitation occurs when an individual attempts, takes, or threatens to take nonconsensual sexual advantage of someone.

Examples include:

taking or distributing nude photos of someone without their consent
drugging someone for the purpose of making them vulnerable to non-consensual sexual contact.
forcing someone to pay money or engage in sexual activity in exchange for not distributing nude photos or private sexual information

Note: All of these examples are considered sexual exploitation under the UW-Madison Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence as well as sexual abuse of a minor under Wisconsin state statute.

Sexual Exploitation Scenario

You are a staff member working in a commuter youth program. Two youth program participants, Gabby and Thomas, met in high school and have been dating for a few months. One afternoon during lunch, you notice Gabby appears worried and anxious, so you ask her if she is alright. She confides in you that Thomas took nude photos of her without her permission, and he has threatened to send the photos to other participants in the program if she ever breaks up with him. This program is very important to Gabby and she is scared she won’t be able to come back if Thomas sends out the picture.

Related Retaliation

Retaliation is an adverse action taken against an individual in response to, motivated by, or in connection with someone’s opposition of sex discrimination, sexual harassment or sexual violence. Opposition may include a formal complaint, participation in an investigation, or support of someone else’s complaint. An adverse action is an action that a reasonable person would find adverse and therefore dissuade the person from making or supporting a report of discrimination.

Examples include:

violating a no-contact directive
awarding a lower grade on a project for reasons other than merit
imposing unwarranted discipline within the youth activity

Related Retaliation Scenario

You are a staff member working in a residential youth program. One of the program participants, Kayla, recently reported to the program director that Sean, a well-liked staff member, said the she was “hot” and looked “older than her age”. In response to Kayla’s complaint, Sean was no longer allowed to work for the program due to his behavior. However, while leaving the dining hall, you overhear several other program participants harassing Kayla and making her feel bad for “getting Sean fired”. Kayla looks upset as she walks away from the group.

Section 1 Knowledge Check

Check your understanding of Section 1 by reviewing the following questions. The correct answers are listed at the end.

Question 1

True or False? Youth who are victims/survivors of sexual misconduct may experience emotional and physical effects but are not affected in other developmental areas.

Question 2

True or False? The majority of teenage sexual assault victims/survivors said that they did NOT know the person who had assaulted them.

Question 3

Multiple Choice. Retaliation is prohibited under the UW-Madison Policy on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Violence. Which of the following are examples of retaliation?

Imposing unwarranted discipline within a youth activity
Awarding a lower grade on a project for reasons other than merit
Violating a no-contact directive
All of the above

Answers

Question 1: False
Question 2: False
Question 3: D, All of the above

Congratulations!

You’ve finished Section 1. Continue to the next section, Section 2: Prevention Strategies and Reporting Obligations | Accessible Version.