First Universalist Church

Safe-Congregation Policy

A Policy for the Prevention of Sexual Misconduct,
Physical Abuse and Harassment

DEFINITIONS

The terms used in this document will have the following meanings:

Abuse includes non-accidental conduct that involves bodily injury or impairment, or offensive physical or sexual contact; including physical or sexual abuse, physical or sexual harassment, physical or sexual molestation, or physical or sexual exploitation.

Physical abuse includes activity that causes bodily injury or impairment or offensive physical contact.

Sexual abuse means any sexual touching of a child or any activity that causes a person to engage in any sexual act or conduct without that person's consent, or in circumstances where that person is unable to refrain from consenting due to age or mental capacity or unusual vulnerability derived from the person's mental health or the existence of a relationship of significant dependency or trust.

Physical harassment or molestation or exploitation means activity that places a person in fear of bodily injury by such acts as threatening or tormenting behavior, compelling a person by force or threat of force to engage in conduct from which the person has a right to abstain, knowingly restricting substantially the movements of another person without that other person's consent, communicating to a person a threat to commit an act against that person or another person or entity where the natural consequence of the threat is to place that person in fear or cause that person to engage in conduct in which that person otherwise would not engage, or similar repeated offensive physical or verbal conduct.

Sexual molestation and sexual exploitation means activity that places another person in a situation where that person feels compelled to engage in sexual conduct to which that person would not voluntarily consent, or in circumstances where that person is unable to refrain from consenting due to age or mental capacity or unusual vulnerability derived from the person's mental health or the existence of a relationship of significant dependency or trust.

Sexual harassment means making sexual advances or requests for sexual favors to another person, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, where the other person by words or conduct has indicated that such words or conduct are not desired, or where a reasonable person would expect that such words or conduct would not be desired.

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