The goal of the University of Skövde is an organisation which in every respect reflects the diversity of the surrounding community. Harassment and discrimination will be proactively counteracted and prevented at the University of Skövde.
Vision for the University of Skövde
The vision for the future states that we at the University of Skövde shall together create a climate that encourages and promotes diversity within the whole organisation.
There shall be a zero tolerance vision regarding the occurrence of discrimination and harassment!
Tolerance and respect
Basic to the work for equal opportunities and diversity at the University of Skövde is that all employees and students shall be treated with tolerance and respect. The work is based on democratic values and human rights.
Whose is the responsibility?
The Vice-Chancellor has overall responsibility to counteract harassment at the University of Skövde. The Heads of the Schools have direct responsibility for handling cases of harassment and investigating the cause, and also for ensuring a working environment that counteracts the occurrence of harassment.
What do the terms mean?
- Direct discrimination is when a person is treated worse than another in a comparable situation
- Indirect discrimination is when apparently neutral conditions are set, which in practice are unfair to people of a gender, ethnic origin, religion or other belief, sexual orientation or functional disability
- Harassment means behaviour that interferes with the personal dignity of a university student. Harassment can be physical, verbal or non-verbal
Harassed or discriminated?
It is always you who decide whether or not the behaviour is degrading.
You have the right not to be subjected to harassment at work. This applies whether the person harassing you is an employer or another employee.
You also have the right not to be harassed when visiting your employment office, for instance, or dealing with your union.
What constitutes harassment?
Harassment is behaviour that violates a person’s integrity or dignity. Such behaviour is prohibited on grounds of
- Sex
- Transgender identity or expression
- Ethnicity
- Religion or other belief
- Disability
- Sexual orientation, or
- Age
Harassment may for instance involve using contemptuous or degrading generalisations about “female”, “homosexual” or “Bosnian” behaviour or characteristics. Or it could involve someone being called “wog”, “spazz”, “poof”, “whore” or the like. Alternatively, it could involve withholding or concealing information related to one or other of the grounds for discrimination.
What the various forms of harassment have in common is that they make the person feel insulted, threatened, abused or unfairly treated.
Harassment is an unwelcome type of behaviour. It is you as the victim who decides what is insulting or abusive. The same type of behaviour may be considered harassment by one person while another may not find it disturbing at all.
If you have been subjected to other types of violations, such as bullying at work, for instance, you should contact your employer or your union safety representative.
What constitutes sexual harassment?
Harassment may also be of a sexual nature, in which case it is referred to as sexual harassment. This covers things like touching, pawing, jokes, suggestions, looks, jargon or images that are sexually allusive.
Sexual harassment differs from ordinary flirting in that it is unwelcome. It is you as the victim who decides what is abusive or insulting and what for instance makes you feel insecure at the workplace.
Equality Ombudsman
The Discrimination Act protects you against discrimination at work, at school, at university or college, and at the shops, and when you buy or rent a home. It also protects you in other important areas of society, such as the healthcare and social services and the social insurance system.
If you have been discriminated against, you can report this to the Equality Ombudsman (DO). It costs nothing to do so.
You can file a complaint with the Ombudsman if you feel you have been discriminated against on grounds of sex, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age. You can also report the matter if an employer has treated you unfairly in connection with your parental leave.
Read more about discrimination
Read more about harassment