Texas Administrative Code › Title 37 - PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS › Part 11 - TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT › Chapter 380 - RULES FOR STATE-OPERATED PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES › Subchapter D - YOUTH RIGHTS AND REMEDIES › Section 380.9337 - Zero-Tolerance for Sexual Abuse, Sexual Activity, and Sexual Harassment

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to
				  establish the Texas Juvenile Justice Department's (TJJD's) zero-tolerance
				  policy for any form of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, or sexual activity
				  involving youth in the agency's care. This rule also addresses TJJD's
				  obligations under federal Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards for
				  preventing, detecting, and responding to sexual abuse and sexual
				  harassment.
(b) Applicability.
				  Unless stated otherwise, this rule applies to all residential facilities
				  operated by TJJD or under contract with TJJD.
(c) Definitions.
(1) Exigent Circumstances--any set of
				  temporary and unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action to combat
				  a threat to the security or institutional order of a facility.
(2) Residential Facilities--high restriction
				  facilities and medium restriction facilities as defined in §
											380.8527
				  of this title.
(3) Sexual
				  Abuse--includes sexual abuse of a youth by another youth or sexual abuse of a
				  youth by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer.
(4) Sexual Abuse of a Youth by Another
				  Youth--includes any of the following acts, if the victim does not consent, is
				  coerced into such act by overt or implied threats of violence, or is unable to
				  consent or refuse:
(A) contact between the
				  penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including penetration, however
				  slight;
(B) contact between the
				  mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus;
(C) penetration of the anal or genital
				  opening of another person, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other
				  instrument; and
(D) any other
				  intentional touching, either directly or through the clothing, of the
				  genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or the buttocks of another person,
				  excluding contact incidental to a physical altercation.
(5) Sexual Abuse of a Youth by a Staff
				  Member, Contractor, or Volunteer--includes any of the following acts, with or
				  without consent of the youth:
(A) contact
				  between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including
				  penetration, however slight;
(B)
				  contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus;
(C) contact between the mouth and any body
				  part where the staff member, contractor, or volunteer has the intent to abuse,
				  arouse, or gratify sexual desire;
(D) penetration of the anal or genital
				  opening, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument, that
				  is unrelated to official duties or where the staff member, contractor, or
				  volunteer has the intent to abuse, arouse, or gratify sexual desire;
(E) any other intentional contact, either
				  directly or through the clothing, of or with the genitalia, anus, groin,
				  breast, inner thigh, or the buttocks, that is unrelated to official duties or
				  where the staff member, contractor, or volunteer has the intent to abuse,
				  arouse, or gratify sexual desire;
(F) any attempt, threat, or request by a
				  staff member, contractor, or volunteer to engage in the activities described in
				  subparagraphs (A) - (E) of this paragraph;
(G) any display by a staff member,
				  contractor, or volunteer of his or her uncovered genitalia, buttocks, or breast
				  in the presence of a youth; and
(H)
				  voyeurism by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer.
(6) Sexual Activity--includes any form of
				  sexual misconduct, as defined in §
											380.9503
				  of this title, that does not meet the definition of sexual abuse.
(7) Sexual Harassment--includes:
(A) repeated and unwelcome sexual advances,
				  requests for sexual favors, or verbal comments, gestures, or actions of a
				  derogatory or offensive sexual nature by one youth directed toward another;
				  and
(B) repeated verbal comments or
				  gestures of a sexual nature to a youth by a staff member, contractor, or
				  volunteer, including demeaning references to gender, sexually suggestive or
				  derogatory comments about body or clothing, or obscene language or
				  gestures.
(8)
				  Voyeurism--an invasion of a youth's privacy by a staff member, contractor, or
				  volunteer for reasons unrelated to official duties, such as:
(A) peering at a youth who is using a toilet
				  in his or her cell to perform bodily functions;
(B) requiring a youth to expose his or her
				  buttocks, genitals, or breasts; or
(C) taking images of all or part of a youth's
				  naked body or of a youth performing bodily functions.