If a professor sexually abused or assaulted you in California, you may be able to bring a civil lawsuit against the professor, and against the college or university if it failed to protect you. A Title IX complaint with the school is an option, not a requirement. A civil claim is a separate path, and it often allows more time than people assume.
Justice for Survivors is a California law firm that handles civil sexual abuse and sexual assault claims, including claims against the institutions that employed or supervised the person who caused the harm.
What "Abuse by a Professor" Means Under California Law
The law uses several distinct terms. Each one leads to different remedies.
Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct based on sex, serious or frequent enough to interfere with a student's education or create a hostile environment. Quid pro quo harassment ("this for that") is when grades, recommendations, research positions or other opportunities are made to depend on sexual conduct. Hostile environment harassment is a pattern of sexual comments, advances or conduct that makes learning untenable.
Sexual battery is a civil wrong defined in California Civil Code § 1708.5, meaning it can be the basis of a suit for money damages whether or not anyone is criminally charged. The statute covers acting with intent to cause a harmful or offensive contact with an intimate part of another person, where a sexually offensive contact results. It also covers related conduct. "Offensive contact" means contact that offends a reasonable sense of personal dignity.
Sexual assault is a narrower term in California's civil deadline statute. It refers to specific crimes listed in the Penal Code, assaults with intent to commit them, and attempts.
A professor controls grades, references and academic futures. That is a position of trust and authority. Courts and Title IX offices look at that power imbalance when they ask whether conduct was truly welcome, and whether the institution should have been watching more closely.
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual harassment and assault, at schools that receive federal funding. California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is mainly a workplace law. It becomes relevant where the student also worked for the university, for example as a teaching or research assistant.
Title IX: How Federal Protections Apply to Campus Abuse
Title IX reaches virtually every college and university in California, including UC and CSU campuses, community colleges, and private institutions that receive federal funds.
Every covered school must designate a Title IX Coordinator, the official responsible for receiving reports and overseeing the school's response. The formal process generally looks like this:
- A formal complaint is filed with the school's Title IX office.
- The school investigates, gathers evidence and interviews witnesses.
- A live hearing is held where the school's procedures provide for one.
- Both sides may have an advisor of their choosing, who can be an attorney.
A complaint to the school is separate from a complaint to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). A student can file with OCR if the school's response was inadequate. OCR complaints generally must be filed within 180 days of the last act of discrimination.
Title IX outcomes are school discipline and corrective measures, not compensation. Pursuing a Title IX complaint does not prevent a civil claim, and a civil claim does not require a Title IX complaint first.
California State Law: Civil Claims Against a Professor and the Institution
A civil claim is a lawsuit brought by the survivor, not the government. It seeks money damages and does not depend on a criminal case, as our guide to civil vs. criminal cases explains.
Against the professor. Civil Code § 1708.5(b) states:
"A person who commits a sexual battery upon another is liable to that person for damages, including, but not limited to, general damages, special damages, and punitive damages."
General damages cover harms like emotional distress. Special damages cover measurable costs like therapy and lost income. Punitive damages punish especially serious misconduct.
Against the institution. A university can be responsible for its own failures. The usual theories are negligence and negligent supervision or retention: the school knew or should have known about the risk a professor posed, and failed to act reasonably. Our guide to institutional sexual abuse covers these theories.
Deadlines. A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. For sexual assault that occurred on or after a survivor's 18th birthday, Code of Civil Procedure § 340.16 sets the deadline as the later of:
- 10 years from the last act, or
- three years from when the survivor discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, that an injury resulted.
That second measure is the discovery rule. Many survivors do not connect the harm to what was done until years later, and the law anticipates that.
Section 340.16(b)(3) also contains a revival window. For adult sexual assault that occurred on or after January 1, 2009, and would otherwise be time-barred, a claim may be filed until December 31, 2026. It does not revive a claim that was litigated to finality, or settled in a written agreement, before January 1, 2023.
Other claim types, such as harassment that does not meet the sexual assault definition, can carry much shorter deadlines. If the abuse happened before age 18, a separate childhood sexual abuse statute applies. For abuse on or after January 1, 2024, that statute has no time limit. For earlier abuse, the deadline is generally age 40 or five years from discovery, whichever is later.
Public universities. UC, CSU and community college defendants are public entities. Claims against them involve the California Government Claims Act (Gov. Code § 900 et seq.). For adult claims, this generally means a written government claim must be presented before a lawsuit can be filed. The deadlines for that step are strict and short, and can depend on whether the defendant is a local public entity or the State. Private colleges are not subject to this step.