Prevention of bullying and harassment at the University of Oulu - help for students

In its meeting on May 28, 2024, the board of directors of the University of Oulu has approved the university's Code of Conduct, a set of ethical principles, that guide staff and students. The University of Oulu’s ethical principles consist of our community’s expectations for ourselves and each other, as well as the activities and behaviour of each member of the community. Our operating principles are based on the university values and the guidelines and regulations set for the university's activities. The principles guide the university community towards responsible, respectful, and sustainable activities

Ethical Principles

• We build a bold and encouraging atmosphere
• We promote openness and transparency
• We choose everyday sustainability
• We behave with respect
• We promote equality and non-discrimination
• We strengthen our well-being at studies and work

Inappropriate conduct means behaviour towards another person that is generally considered inappropriate or is unlawful. It is often systematic and continuous, negative activity intended to subjugate another person that can manifest itself, for example, as actions or neglect. Inappropriate conduct can be engaged in by other students, staff members or internship supervisor.

Inappropriate conduct includes, for example
• threatening and yelling
• physical and mental violence
• making unfounded negative remarks about a person’s characteristics, personality traits or private life, or questioning the mental health of a person
• isolating a person from a community’s social interaction
• offensive jokes and images
• hate speech
• exclusion
• coercion
• stalking

If you suspect that an act meets the criteria for a crime (e.g., sexual harassment, stalking, defamation), contact the police.

What is not considered harassment:

With regard to students at university, the following situations are not considered harassment or inappropriate treatment.
• Academic debate and differences of opinion.
• Conflicts over academic decisions or interpretations. There may be reasonable differences of opinion over the interpretation of academic performance, for example, involving course requirements or evaluation criteria. Such situations are a normal part of the academic process and can usually be resolved through discussion.
• Evaluating performance and giving feedback on studies. Academic evaluations and feedback from teachers are a normal part of the student's learning process. If you are dissatisfied with the assessment of a course or other study attainment, you are advised to consult the University’s instructions Processes for request for rectification.
• Disciplinary actions. The university has the right to impose disciplinary measures on students who violate university rules.
• Work- and study-related issues. Disagreements at universities sometimes arise between students or between staff and students. When dealt with openly and with respect, they do not constitute harassment but are instead a normal part of academic life.

No one needs to tolerate any form of inappropriate conduct. If you have experienced inappropriate conduct, you should let the person who engaged in that conduct know that you do not accept their actions and ask them to stop. If you feel that you are unable to do this, you should contact the harassment contact person for students or the student union or university harassment coordinator.

We recommend that you document the date and time of the incident. Likewise, it is recommendable to keep copies of any e-mail messages, social media messages and other written or image materials related to the incident.

What to do if you experience inappropriate treatment:
1. Tell the person to stop. Tell the person clearly that their behaviour is not acceptable and ask them to stop. If you do not feel safe or able to do this yourself, you can go directly to the next step.
2. Document what happened. Write down the times and places of each incident. Also save any messages, emails and other material related to the situation
3. Submit a report
4. Take part in the process. Once you have made a report, your participation in the process is essential. If you do not participate, the case will be closed.

Bullying is repeated inappropriate conduct towards another person, in other words, actions or behaviour that are generally considered inappropriate or are unlawful. Bullying includes deliberate actions meant to disturb, insult or hurt another person. It can be expressed verbally, physically or in a digital form. There is no exact definition of bullying. Bullying manifests itself, for example, as humiliation, insulting, exclusion, dissemination of disinformation, defamation, isolation and ridiculing. Bullying behaviours are repeated and systematic.

Discrimination means treating, without an acceptable reason, a person or a group of people differently from others in an equivalent position on the basis of age, origin, nationality, language, religion, belief, opinion, political activity, trade union activity, family relationships, state of health, disability, sexual orientation or other personal characteristics. Indirect discrimination means situations in which an apparently neutral rule, criterion or practice puts a person at a disadvantage compared with others. Discrimination conduct denies people equal opportunities to participate in the social networks and activities of the university community. Discrimination can occur when a person is left out of or denied entry to a group, or when their access to information about various kinds of events is hindered. Discrimination based on gender means treating persons differently from others in an equivalent position based on the person’s sex, gender identity or gender expression.

Harassment is when a person is systematically, repeatedly and long-term subject to oppressive, insulting or oppressive behavior and this causes harm to their health. It is a chain of events during which a person drifts into a defenseless situation or is subjected to other negative sanctions. Harassment is one form of inappropriate treatment, but not the only one. Harassment occurs when behaviour creates an atmosphere where a person is subjected to degrading treatment or humiliation or targeted by threatening, malicious or aggressive behaviours. For example, racist jokes or other kinds of verbal abuse targeted at, for example, colleagues or fellow students belonging to a sexual minority are examples of harassment.

Inappropriate treatment is behavior or action towards general good manners. Inappropriate treatment is repeated, regular and long-lasting negative, offensive, submissive or aggressive behavior towards one or more people. Often it is systematic and continuous, but it can also be a single event. Inappropriate behaviour may occur, for example, in teaching situations or in other forms of interaction related to studies. Such behaviour may also take place in situations where the person subjected to inappropriate treatment is not present, for example through speaking about them inappropriately behind their back.

Online targeting, or targeted harassment, is a phenomenon in which one or more actors urge and incite a large group of people to attack an individual by using different means, for example by sending hate messages via e-mail or social media. Online targeting can manifest itself as direct or indirect threatening, disseminating disinformation or searching for information on the person’s private life and deliberately distorting it.

Sexual harassment is defined as verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is unwanted and by which a person’s psychological or physical integrity is violated intentionally or factually, in particular by creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive atmosphere. Rape and attempted rape are criminal offences. Sexual harassment can be expressed in the following ways: sexually suggestive gestures or expressions; indecent talk, puns and comments or questions referring to body parts, clothing or private life; pornographic material; sexually suggestive letters, emails, text messages or phone calls; physical contact; suggestions of or demands for sexual intercourse or other kinds of sexual activity; rape or attempted rape.

Gender-based harassment means unwanted conduct that is not of a sexual nature but which is related to the gender of a person, their gender identity or gender expression, and by which the person’s psychological or physical integrity is intentionally or factually violated and an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive atmosphere is created. Gender-based harassment can be expressed in the following ways: degrading talk concerning another person's gender; belittling the opposite gender; workplace or school bullying, when this is based on the victim's gender.

What to do when encountering a threatening person

• Give the threatening person space and let them stand their ground
• Speak clearly, briefly and agreeably
• Keep your hands visible
• Don't turn your back
• Avoid sudden movements
• Stay calm
• Avoid prolonged eye contact
• Do not underestimate the threatening person or the situation
• Be flexible, not uncompromising
• Do not question the delusions of a person under the influence of intoxicants or otherwise behaving in a confused manner
• Buy time for more help to come
• Try to sound the alarm so that the threatening person does not notice
• If necessary, call public emergency number 112

Instructions from the situation without a direct threat

• Ask the person to stop their disruptive behaviour.
• If the person continues their disruptive behaviour despite the request to stop, ask them to leave the facility.
• If the person does not leave despite the request, ask a security guard for help.
• Report the matter to your faculty's harassment contact person and, if necessary, to the security manager if the situation involved a security threat.

Under the Act on the Openness of Government Activities, university employees are bound by a confidentiality obligation concerning confidential information. Personal data is processed with the utmost care. Only persons whose duties include the processing of a given matter, who may provide information on the matter, or who are needed to process the matter will be informed. If necessary, different parties may be consulted in order to clarify matters.

The privacy of students is protected so that their identity will not be unnecessarily disclosed. If the student reporting an incident requests that their identity is not to be disclosed to a certain person, the student will be informed that disclosure of the student’s identity to the person in question is necessary for investigating the matter. Anonymous reports cannot be processed.

The person investigating the matter must keep any relevant correspondence and other documentation until they feel that the matter has been satisfactorily concluded. If, upon completion of the investigation, there are no documents to be archived in connection with the matter, the person who conducted the investigation will store the information related to it to the extent necessary for performing their duties and any further processing.

1. Don't dismiss another person's experiences and feelings; instead, be willing to listen to them.
2. If your behaviour is seen as inappropriate conduct, stop that behaviour immediately, even if you do not think such behaviour constitutes bullying or harassment.

3. Share your own perspective and listen to the other person’s account in a joint discussion. Be prepared to offer and to accept an apology. Make an effort to develop a sufficiently shared understanding of the situation.
4. Keep a record of the relevant events and occurrences. You can also turn to the study psychologists, if you feel a need to talk with someone.

Fraudulent accusations are taken as seriously as actual incidents of inappropriate conduct or harassment and may lead to the same kinds of disciplinary action.