Sexual and Relationship Violence / Title IX
There are few acts more obviously contrary to our ability to live in community and strive for fulfillment than the threat or experience of violence. Among acts of violence, sexual violence is particularly devastating in that it is a “violation of the sexual intimacy of another person” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2356).
Sexuality is an important component of “the aptitude for forming bonds of communion with others” (2332), and serves as a part of the living out of love, which is “the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being” (Familiaris consortio, 11). In its proper place, the sexual act serves as an expression of the most intimate union of love between persons (CCC 2362).
Sexual violence, on the other hand, undermines the possibility of communion by treatment of another as a thing to be used, rather than a person to be loved. That is why it is a violation of both justice and charity (2356). It “deeply wounds the respect, freedom, and physical and moral integrity to which every person has a right,” causing grave damage to its victims (ibid.). No one deserves to be a victim of such misconduct. No one deserves to suffer a nonconsensual sexual act.
Similarly, those in a dating or domestic relationship serve as a symbol of the family, the original cell of social life (2207). The family contains “the foundations of freedom, security and fraternity within society” (ibid.). Violence from those on whom one should most fully be able to rely undermines the trust that is a necessary component of all society.
The University of Dallas strongly condemns such acts for the intrinsic evil that they are, and is committed to helping those who have been harmed. The university has designated its Title IX Coordinator as the person responsible for assisting members of the university community who may have experienced sexual and other forms of relationship violence. The university’s Title IX Coordinator is Luciana Hampilos – Director, Office of Civil Rights and Title IX – Haggar University Center – 1845 E. Northgate Dr., Irving, TX 75062 – 972-721-5056 – https://udallas.edu/titleix.