Non Discrimination Policy

The following policies apply to Students and staff who believe they have been discriminated against, in the college setting, on the basis of race, religion, color, creed, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, disability, or some other right recognizable by the larger society and to those students or staff who face disciplinary proceedings for misconduct, plagiarism or cheating.
SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
General Provisions:
The College is a privately funded institution of higher education in Trinidad & Tobago committed to providing the finest education possible for our students and the most productive environment possible for the faculty and staff. The College is committed to creating an environment where students, faculty and staff can live, work and explore new and old ideas and knowledge freely without fear. Integral to this effort are the relationships between faculty, staff, patients and our students. Anything, which erodes the respect and confidence that students and staff have in our College, is a serious problem for us. Sexual harassment is one such problem as it can destroy our efforts to create and maintain the sort of environment so necessary for learning and scholarship to occur. The College given its core component of healing by touch is committed to creating and maintaining a harassment free environment.
Sexual Harassment Policy for Faculty, Staff & Students
While this problem can seriously affect all members of an educational community, sexual harassment can be particularly devastating for our student and patient population. Sexual harassment is unacceptable conduct and will not be condoned in any form at the College.
Sexual Harassment Defined
It is generally agreed that what constitutes and defines sexual harassment can vary under particular circumstances and events Nevertheless the College defines sexual harassment as follows:
"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute harassment when (1) submission to or rejection of such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's academic performance or employment; (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for decisions about academic evaluation, employment, promotion, transfer, selection for training, performance evaluation, or selection for academic awards or benefits etc; (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational or work environment or substantially interferes with a student's academic or an employee's work performance."

While the definition quoted above reflects the historical fact that the majority of sexual harassment complaints involve a male harasser and a female complainant (or victim), the definition applies equally to female harassers and male victims as well as same-sex harassment. As described by the U.S. Office for Civil Rights and we agree:

'Sexual harassment consists of verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, imposed on the basis of sex by an employee or an agent that denies, limits, provides different, or conditions the provision of aid, benefits, services or treatment by sexual preambles. Generally, harassment at its extreme occurs when a person, in a position to control, influence, or affect another individual's education, grades, job, or career, uses their authority and power to coerce an individual into sexual relations, or to punish that individual for refusing sexual relations."

For example, sexual harassment may include:

	Direct sexual advances, obscene gestures, sexual assault or subtle pressure for sexual activity;
	Unwelcome physical contact;
	Demands for sexual favors, unwelcome sexual filiations, touching, advances, propositions, accompanied by implied or overt threats concerning one's job, grade or letter of recommendation;
	Sexual inquiries, jokes and epithets sexual comments and innuendoes
	Derogatory comments about a person's sex or sexual orientation
	Other forms of verbal abuse of a sexual nature, such as whistling or catcalling
	Offensive or unnecessary touching, such as patting, pinching or constant brushing against a person
	Physical interference with a person's movements
	The display of sexually suggestive or degrading posters, photographs or objects on the job and
	The requirement that a person wear sexually revealing clothing or graphic or suggestive comments about an individuals dress or body

Sexual harassment does not refer to occasional compliments of a socially acceptable nature, or welcomed social relationships This unwelcome sexual behavior is defined from the perspective of the victim, not the harasser. The harasser does not have to be the victim's supervisor. The harasser may be a supervisor who does not supervise the victim, a non-supervisory employee (co-worker), or, in some circumstances, even a non-employee, such as a recipient of public services or a vendor. The victim does not have to be the person at whom the unwelcome sexual conduct is directed. The victim may be someone who is a witness to and personally offended by such conduct when it is directed toward another person. Sexual harassment does not depend on the victim's having suffered a concrete economic injury as a result of the harasser's conduct; it can include the creation of a hostile environment within which the victim must work. Sexual harassment can occur not only in the workplace itself, but also during work assignments away from the workplace and at employer-sponsored off-site events, if the behavior creates a hostile work environment for the victim or otherwise meets the definition of sexual harassment. A man as well as a woman may be the victim of sexual harassment and a woman as well as a man may be the harasser.