Discrimination and Harassment

It is the policy of DePaul University that no person shall be the object of discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, family relationship status, physical or mental disability, military status, genetic information or other status protected by local, state, or federal law in its employment or its educational settings.  

View a full description of DePaul's Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy here.

Prohibited Discrimination

Examples of discrimination in violation of this policy include treating an employee, student or other member of the university community differently in the terms and conditions of his or her employment or education or making decisions about a person's employment, compensation or education based upon a person's race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, family relationship status, physical or mental disability, military status, genetic information or other protected status.

Prohibited Harassment

Harassment based on a protected category, as outlined above, is a form of discrimination. Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on any of the above described protected categories. Such harassment is prohibited where: 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a term or condition of one's academic, working or living environment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create an academic, working or living environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile or abusive.

Minor and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) generally will not rise to the level of prohibited conduct. To be prohibited, the conduct must create an academic, working or living environment that would be intimidating, hostile or abusive to reasonable people.

Depending on the specific circumstances and impact on the academic environment, workplace or living environment, examples of harassment in violation of this policy include, but are not limited to, verbal abuse, offensive innuendo, derogatory comments, or the open display of offensive objects or pictures concerning a person's race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, parental status, family relationship status, physical or mental disability, military status, genetic information or other protected status.

In addition to the examples of prohibited harassment above, sexual harassment warrants further explanation. Sexual harassment also includes, but is not limited to, any unwelcome sexual advances, direct or indirect, requests for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when submission to such conduct is made or is threatened to be made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of instruction, employment or participation in other university activity; or

• submission to such conduct is made or is threatened to be made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of instruction, employment or participation in other university activity; or
• submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used or is threatened to be used as a basis for evaluation in making academic or employment decisions affecting that individual.

Amorous relationships that might be appropriate in other circumstances present serious difficulties within the university community. Relationships between individuals in inherently unequal positions (such as teacher and student, supervisor and employee) may undermine the real or perceived integrity of the supervision and evaluation process, as well as affect the trust inherent in the educational environment. Consensual romantic or sexual relationships in which one party is in a position to review the work or influence the career of the other may provide grounds for complaint when that relationship gives undue access or advantage to, restricts opportunities of, or creates a hostile and unacceptable environment for one of the parties to the relationship, or for others.

In such circumstances, consent may not be considered a defense against a charge of sexual harassment in violation of this policy. The determination of what constitutes sexual harassment depends upon the specific facts and the context in which the conduct occurs.

Sex discrimination and sex harassment can include instances of sexual or relationship violence. For more information on DePaul's policy prohibiting sexual and relationship violence, refer to the Sexual and Relationship Violence Prevention and Response Policy.

DePaul prohibits retaliation and the threat of retaliation against any person, including complainants, respondents and witnesses, exercising his or her rights and/or responsibilities in good faith under the Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policy or federal law, state law, or county law prohibiting discrimination, harassment or retaliation.

For the purposes of this policy, retaliation includes any conduct directed against an individual, or someone affiliated with the individual, on the basis of or in reaction to the exercise of rights accorded and/or defined by this policy, or federal, state, county, or local law that is likely to dissuade the individual from exercising his or her rights in the future.

Claims of retaliation will be investigated and, if substantiated, constitute a separate violation of this policy. Any acts of retaliation will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including but not limited to reprimand, change in work assignment, loss of privileges, mandatory training, suspension, and/or termination. In conjunction with this policy, the university also enforces a Non-Retaliation Policy.

DePaul University takes good faith complaints of discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation seriously. Individuals who knowingly make false allegations under this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, including but not limited to reprimand, suspension, and/or termination.

You can also report to the Illinois Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Helpline.