BU Sexual Misconduct Policy
From Dr. Gloria Waters, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Boston University is committed to maintaining a living, learning, and working environment free from discrimination and harassment through prevention efforts and vigorous enforcement of our nondiscrimination policies. This annual statement, issued as required by Massachusetts law, outlines BU’s Interim Equal Opportunity and Title IX Policy (the “Policy”) and its accompanying procedures, which lay out how BU addresses allegations of sexual misconduct, discrimination, and harassment. This Policy reflects our ongoing efforts to provide a fair, transparent, and supportive process for addressing concerns of prohibited behavior.
Every member of our community has a role in preventing, recognizing, and addressing behavior prohibited under our Policy. These topics are covered in the sexual misconduct prevention training required of all students and new employees.
We encourage all community members who experience incidents of prohibited behavior to report them by completing an incident report form. The University strives to keep every report or disclosure as private as possible, only sharing reports with those who have a legitimate business or educational need to know, or as required by University Policy.
Employees not designated as confidential resources are “mandated reporters” under the Policy. These employees are required to report prohibited behavior of which they become aware to the Equal Opportunity Office (EOO) by submitting an incident report form.
Please remember: we can take meaningful steps toward ending prohibited behavior by reporting it.
EOO responds to all reports of potential prohibited behavior under the Policy. You can learn more about the role of EOO, the reporting process, resources available on and off campus, access to supportive measures, and relevant processes on the EOO website. We encourage all students, faculty, and staff to review the full Interim Equal Opportunity and Title IX Policy and procedures to better understand your rights and responsibilities.
Navigating difficult or uncomfortable circumstances – especially within structured procedures – can feel overwhelming. EOO is committed to maintaining a dynamic and responsive process that allows for thoughtful change and improvement. Toward that end, EOO actively monitors and considers all constructive feedback, including anonymous input. This feedback is reviewed by management and discussed with the team to ensure it informs our practices meaningfully.
EOO exists both to implement the Policy and to serve the BU community. These goals are not mutually exclusive – they are deeply interconnected, and we remain committed to upholding both with integrity and care.
We appreciate your efforts in making our community as safe as possible by becoming an active and engaged community member. You may contact University Title IX Coordinator Jean Pryor Estevez at titleix@bu.edu with any questions.