TITLE IX | September 22, 2021 – Recent legislation, SB212, requires all employees (both faculty and staff) at a public or private post-secondary institution to promptly report any knowledge of any incidents of sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating violence, or stalking "committed by or against a person who was a student enrolled at or an employee of the institution at the time of the incident."
SB212 has strong criminal and administrative penalties for not complying with the law. Employees failing to report incidents of sexual assault can be charged with a Class B Misdemeanor and terminated. If the person intentionally tries to cover up the incident, they could also face a Class A misdemeanor charge. Furthermore, the college may also face a disciplinary action as a failure to comply with the bill’s requirements and could incur as much as a $2 million penalty.
Employees who make a report, or assist in an investigation of a report, are protected under the legislation. The legislation has only two exceptions for requiring reports of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence or stalking:
- if you are the victim of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence or stalking; or
- if the disclosure is made at a public awareness event sponsored by the college or college-affiliated student organization.
Please use the Sexual Misconduct link to report all information concerning an incident. The reporter must provide all information that may be relevant to the investigation. It is not incumbent on the reporter to discern which category the incident may be classified.
Odessa College Sexual Misconduct reporting form.
If you were just assaulted:
- First, go to a safe place.
- If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
- Take care of yourself. Get medical attention if necessary.
- See document below for on and off-campus resources such as health center and counseling center as well as several others.
- Even if you are not physically injured, it is important to determine the risks and sexually-transmitted infections and pregnancy.
- To preserve the forensic evidence, ask the hospital to conduct a "rape kit".
- If you suspect you have been drugged, ask that a urine sample be collected (this is not part of the standard exam). The sample will need to be analyzed by a forensic lab.
At this website, you can file a report for any of the following categories of sexual misconduct:
- Sexual Assault
- Sexual Harassment
- Dating Violence
- Domestic Violence
- Stalking
- Sexual Exploitation
- Sexual Intimidation (Cyber-stalking, Indecent Exposure, etc.)
You can file a report for someone else. You can file a report anonymously. You can file a report using a pseudonym.