Harassment, abuse and bullying
Find information on what you should do and to whom you should turn in situations when you feel exposed. Harassment, sexual harassment, abusive treatment, bullying and retaliation are all behaviors that exceed the limit of what is socially acceptable, permissible and in some cases legal.
If you are on campus and feel harassed or abusively discriminated against, try to tell them or those who expose you that the behavior is unwelcome. Get help from someone else if it is difficult to do it yourself. You can also say no in writing.
If this does not help – turn to someone you trust, for example a teacher, programme director, student work environment representative, student and doctoral representative at the Student Union or the Student Healthcare Centre to get help with reporting the incident.
If you witness a situation that you experience as harassment by someone else, you are encouraged to take action. If it feels safe to do so, talk to the person you experience being exposed and ask if you can help. If you are not comfortable with that, get in touch with one of the above contact persons and tell them about the perceived situation.
What is abusive discrimination and harassment?
It is the person who feels exposed who decides what is unwanted or offensive. Harassment, sexual harassment and abusive discrimination can also take place via email, text message or social media.
Victimization
Characteristic of abusive discrimination are words or actions that are perceived as insulting, offensive or degrading by the person or persons exposed to them. In worst case, this can develop into bullying, where the behavior is repeated regularly. The situation can be experienced as unpleasant, unfriendly, unfathomable and unfair. Examples: not greeting someone, calling someone by a depreciatory nickname, freezing someone out or exposing someone.
Harassment
Harassment allows a person to feel insulted, threatened, disrespected or mistreated. Harassment is an unwelcome behavior. The difference from abusive discrimination is that harassment has a connection with one of the grounds for discrimination; gender, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation and age. Examples: behavior of an offensive nature, comments, gestures, exclusion, expressing ridiculous or derogatory generalisations.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is an act of a sexual nature that violates someone's dignity. It is both a form of discrimination and victimisation. Here too, the behavior is unwelcome and undesirable. If a person representing the University exposes you to harassment, it is considered discrimination according to the law. Examples: someone paws or casts close-up glances, unwelcome touches, compliments, invitations and allusions.
Reprisals
Reprisals means that someone is subjected to some form of punishment or ill-treatment, as a reaction to the fact that they have pointed out or reported discrimination.
The importance of reporting
It is important that the University receives information about harassment, sexual harassment, abusive discrimination and retaliation. This is to be able to take measures to make your study time as safe and secure as possible.
- Contact a teacher, programme director, student work environment representative, student-and doctoral representative or the Student Healthcare Centre.
- Report to Helpdesk under the heading "Report occupational injuries and incidents including threats and violence, harassment and abusive discrimination".
Helpdesk - Your application is handled by the relevant school together with the University's coordinator for equal opportunities, who will contact you if necessary.
If you need someone to talk to, you can contact the Student Healthcare Centre.Student Healthcare Centre
