Subchapter A: Definitions
As used in this chapter:
Board means the New York City Board of Correction.
CHA means the Correctional Health Authority designated by the City of New York as the agency responsible for health and mental health services for inmates in the care and custody of the Department, including CHA contractor staff or volunteers.
CHA employee or staff means an employee who works directly for CHA.
Contractor means a person who provides services on a recurring basis pursuant to a contractual agreement with the Department or CHA.
DA means a District Attorney's Office.
Department means the New York City Department of Correction.
Department employee or staff means an employee who works directly for the Department.
Direct staff supervision means that Department security staff are in the same room with, and within reasonable hearing distance of, the inmate.
DOI means the New York City Department of Investigation.
Exigent circumstances mean any set of temporary and unforeseen circumstances that require immediate action in order to combat a threat to the security or institutional order of a facility.
Facility means a place, institution, building (or part thereof), set of buildings, structure, or area (whether or not enclosing a building or set of buildings) used by the Department for the confinement of individuals.
Gender nonconforming means a person whose appearance or manner does not conform to traditional societal gender expectations.
ID staff means any employee or staff who works directly for the Department in the Department's Investigation Division.
Inmate means any person incarcerated or detained in a facility.
Intersex means a person whose sexual or reproductive anatomy or chromosomal pattern does not seem to fit typical definitions of male or female. Intersex medical conditions are sometimes referred to as disorders of sex development.
Medical practitioner means a health professional who, by virtue of education, credentials, and experience, is permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients within the scope of his or her professional practice. A "qualified medical practitioner" means such a professional who has also successfully completed specialized training for treating sexual abuse victims.
Mental health practitioner means a mental health professional who, by virtue of education, credentials, and experience, is permitted by law to evaluate and care for patients within the scope of his or her professional practice. A "qualified mental health practitioner" means such a professional who has also successfully completed specialized training for treating sexual abuse victims.
Nunez Agreement means the Consent Judgment in Nunez v. City of New York, 11 Civ. 05845 (SDNY).
Pat-down search means a running of the hands over the clothed body of an inmate by an employee to determine whether the individual possesses contraband.
Security staff means Department employees primarily responsible for the supervision and control of inmates, detainees, or residents in housing units, recreational areas, dining areas, and other program areas of the facility.
Strip search means a search that requires a person to remove or arrange some or all clothing so as to permit a visual inspection of the person's breasts, buttocks, or genitalia.
Transgender means a person whose gender identity (i.e., internal sense of feeling male or female) is different from the person's assigned sex at birth.
Substantiated allegation means an allegation that was investigated and determined to have occurred.
Unfounded allegation means an allegation that was investigated and determined not to have occurred.
Unsubstantiated allegation means an allegation that was investigated and the investigation produced insufficient evidence to make a final determination as to whether or not the event occurred.
Volunteer means an individual who donates time and effort on a recurring basis to enhance the activities or programs of the Department or CHA.
(Added City Record 11/25/2016, eff. 1/2/2017)
For purposes of this chapter, the term:
(a) Sexual abuse includes:
(1) Sexual abuse of an inmate by another inmate; and
(2) Sexual abuse of an inmate by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer.
(b) Sexual abuse of an inmate by another inmate 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:
(1) Contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including penetration, however slight;
(2) Contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus;
(3) Penetration of the anal or genital opening of another person, however slight, by a hand, finger, object, or other instrument; and
(4) 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.
(c) Sexual abuse of an inmate by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer includes any of the following acts, with or without consent of the inmate:
(1) Contact between the penis and the vulva or the penis and the anus, including penetration, however slight;
(2) Contact between the mouth and the penis, vulva, or anus;
(3) 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;
(4) 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;
(5) 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;
(6) Any attempt, threat, or request by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer to engage in the activities described in paragraphs (1)-(5) of this section;
(7) Any display by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer of his or her uncovered genitalia, buttocks, or breast in the presence of an inmate, and
(8) Voyeurism by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer.
(d) Voyeurism by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer means an invasion of privacy of an inmate by staff for reasons unrelated to official duties, such as peering at an inmate who is using a toilet in his or her cell to perform bodily functions; requiring an inmate to expose his or her buttocks, genitals, or breasts; or taking images of all or part of an inmate's naked body or of an inmate performing bodily functions.
(e) Sexual harassment includes:
(1) Repeated and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal comments, gestures, or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature by one inmate directed toward another; and
(2) Repeated verbal comments or gestures of a sexual nature to an inmate 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.
(Added City Record 11/25/2016, eff. 1/2/2017)
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