Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, in particular when creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. [1, p. 22]. Sexual harassment includes sexual coercion, unwelcome sexual attention and sexist behaviour (use of gender stereotypes) [2, p. 11], [3]. In the academic setting it may occur between students, between teachers, by teachers toward students and by students toward teachers.

Sexual harassment may assume various forms in the university environment, such as [2, p. 11–15], [4]:

• repeated unwanted sexual advances,
• demanding sexual conduct for a countervalue (e.g. better conditions at an exam),
• inappropriate comments of an individual or a group based on sex, gender or sexuality,
• unwanted e-mails, photographs or messages of a sexual nature,
• inappropriate sex jokes and obscene gestures,
• exposing breasts, genitals or buttocks in a public context,
• rape or attempted rape,

• unwelcome touching.

The consequences of sexual harassment of victims include [1, p. 21], [2, p. 9]:

• fear, anxiety, shame and anger,
• reduced productivity,
• high absenteeism,
• low self-esteem,
• reduced performance,
• avoiding teachers,
• early termination of studies,
• transfer of the experience to future life.

Each member of the academic community contributes to the creation of safe, respectful and dignified environment free of sexual harassment. Masaryk University shall not tolerate any form of sexual harassment. The rights of students and teachers at the university are observed; safe and decent context for development and cooperation is fostered. In the event that a sexual harassment case is detected at the university, the victims are provided support and help in its resolution.

Sexual harassment is a very serious form of inappropriate behaviour and is not tolerated at Masaryk University. The university applies the following principles to dealing with sexual harassment:

Available assistance

Masaryk University provides counselling to victims, witnesses and those accused of sexual harassment, approaches them with an offer of assistance and provides the relevant information. All the necessary information and contacts are available on the website so that anyone can access them without having to explain their situation first. Contact persons provide information on possible solutions and assistance both inside and outside the university, so that the person making a report can choose the solution that suits him/her best. If the complainant contacts the contact persons, they offer to listen with understanding; they will not downplay the situation and will not push this person in any way. Psychological counselling is also available as part of university assistance.

Victim protection

The safety of the person reporting the incident is a priority for MU and its representatives. The contact person who primarily communicates with this person remains the same all the time. The number of people involved in the resolution process is minimised. All people involved are bound to maintain confidentiality. We prevent secondary victimisation of the victim. The protection of the victim continues even after the resolution of the incident at all levels of working or study life.

Prevention of bias

Any people who could have a personal interest in the outcome of the resolution process are excluded from the resolution of the case (e.g., colleagues who do not want to harm their colleague). This protects both sides of the incident from bias.

Maintaining the objectivity of the resolution

A different person deals with each party to the incident. These people communicate with each other only to the extent of communicating the facts found.

Principle of confidentiality

All people involved in the resolution process are bound by confidentiality obligations. The information about the incident is kept confidential.

About 78 % of students have experienced some form of sexual harassment [5]. For various reasons it is often difficult to actively defend yourself – the sexual assault often surprises and paralyses the victim. Moreover, if the victim is in a subordinate or dependent position (e.g. at an exam), she or he fears to protest. Another possible obstacle may be the victim’s concern of being labelled as “over-sensitive”. 

If you are sexually harassed, we want to assure you that:

• Your feelings are legitimate. Everyone has different boundaries. What is considered a joke by someone may be unpleasant or hurting for someone else. It is you who sets the boundaries of what you feel comfortable with.
• It is not your fault. When a person makes humiliating or sexist comments, improper proposals or physical assaults, it is never your fault. The responsibility always lies with the instigator.
• You are not alone in this. Sexual harassment represents an extreme mental load for its victim. There are a lot of people at the university and elsewhere who will help you to deal with the experience.
  • You can ask someone close to you or seek professional advice.
  • You can call the organization Modrá linka, who operate a helpline, or Persefona, who specialise in issues connected with domestic and sexual violence.
  • You can get in touch with the Psychological Counselling at the university.
  • You can contact one of the contact persons at MU or the Masaryk University ombuds who will provide you with individual advice and possibly help with reporting the incident within MU.
• It is not your duty to report the case. If it happens that you have been a victim of sexual harassment and you wish to tackle the situation:

• If possible, say NO. It is often difficult to express your disagreement, especially if there is a power imbalance. Therefore, if you do not say no, it cannot be automatically understood as a consent. It is useful to let the other person know that your boundaries have been transgressed, but if you cannot do it, do not blame yourself. It is not your duty to defend yourself; it is everyone’s duty not to commit sexual misconduct.
• Collect evidence. Keep the correspondence with the perpetrator, if any.
• If you become a victim of sexual abuse, you can report it to the police. In case you decide to do so, we recommend first getting in touch with Persefona, who will provide the necessary assistance and one of their staff may accompany you to the police station.

The StandUp Against Street Harassment project offers a 10-minute digital training session that can help you find out what to do if you are being harassed in public.

This text was created in collaboration with the Konsent association, which exposes myths about sex and sexual violence. All used text sources can be found below or here.

Sources:

If you witness a situation which you consider sexual harassment:

• Ask the person you think is a victim whether she/he feels comfortable or whether she/he needs your help.
• Express disapproval of the situation. It is usually difficult for the victim to oppose harassment. Therefore, it helps if you take a stand even if you are not directly affected by the situation. The victim will know she/he is not alone in defending their rights. This does not apply just to sexual harassment. For instance, when a teacher makes jokes demeaning minorities it is good to express disapproval as a member of the majority; when a teacher humiliates women in class, disagreement should be voiced also by a male student (and vice versa).
• If it is difficult to express disapproval or to ask the victim during the incident, try to approach her/him later (after the class, exam etc.) and make sure they do not need help.

If someone confides in you about being a victim of sexual harassment:

• Assure the person that you believe them and that you appreciate their trust
• Emphasise that the person is not guilty.
• Bear in mind that each person responds differently. While one person is able to give a rational account of events, someone else may be paralysed.
• Ask the person whether she/he wants any help. You can offer them various possibilities to tackle the situation as mentioned above.
• Suppress your curiosity. It may be beneficial to speak about the experience for some people, whereas it may be a trauma for others if they are forced to relive the situation.
• Do not push them. A victim of sexual harassment is not obliged to deal with the situation or report it. She/he has experienced an experience that violated their personal integrity. Try to formulate your suggestions as offers – for instance: “Do you want me to call Modrá linka with you?” Do not formulate them as orders: “Call the police! You must report it!”
• Do not do anything against the will of the person who confided in you.
• Being a someone for a victim of sexual harassment to confide in can be psychologically challenging. You can also seek help – you can contact one of the contact persons at MU who will provide you with individual advice.

The StandUp Against Street Harassment project offers a 10-minute digital training that can help you learn what to do if you witness public harassment.

This text was created in collaboration with the Konsent association, which exposes myths about sex and sexual violence. All used text sources can be found below or here.

Masaryk University has created a network of contact persons who provide counselling to victims, witnesses and those accused of sexual harassment. These contact persons are professionally trained in this field and are actively interested in the topic. As far as communication with the person involved in such a case is concerned, all contact persons completed tailor-made workshops provided by the Konsent organization and they are also thoroughly acquainted with the process of dealing with such a case within MU.

If you contact one of the contact persons, you can expect that they will first of all listen to you, will inform you about the help tools available at and outside the university, and will introduce you to the resolution process within MU. All of this could help you make an informed decision about how to handle your situation. If you want to submit your case for resolution within MU, the contact person is ready to help you with this.

You can contact the contact person who is part of the MU Student Advisory Centre, the MU ombuds, Students' Chamber of Academic Senate and contact persons from individual faculties and other units. It is possible to freely choose the contact person you will contact, whether you are a student or an employee. In addition to choosing whether to contact a woman or a man, you can also choose to use a contact from your faculty or a contact person outside the faculty.

Contact persons for dealing with sexual harassment incidents are people who hold also other positions within the university, so please keep in mind that even if they try to be available for you as soon as possible, sometimes it may not be immediately. If you decide to meet the contact person in person, we recommend arranging a specific date for the meeting, which will help ensure enough space and time for the interview (of course there is no need to write any details in advance, just write to the contact person that you want to meet).