Reporting harassment and victimisation

Last changed: 11 September 2024

SLU does not tolerate harassment, sexual harassment, reprisals or victimisation. SLU has a duty to investigate regardless of how the university becomes aware of a student or employee believing they were harassed, sexually harassed, victimised or subject to reprisals linked to the university.

Investigating an incident aims to gather enough knowledge about the situation for the person in charge of the organisation to assess which measures need to be taken to put an end to the harassment or victimisation, and prevent future harassment and victimisation. Incidents directly linked to the university that affect studies or work should also be investigated. These may include incidents at student union activities, during staff parties or on social media.

If you feel you have been exposed to any of these, you can report it digitally via SLU's IA system (Information system on work environment).

The report will be received by SLU's investigation team who will contact you. More information is available in an overview of the case process and below. You can use the links to get to the different sections.

Staff can also report having experienced harassment or victimisation to their head of department/line manager or to another manager. Students can report to the head of the department where they are registered on a course.

What is harassment, sexual harassment, reprisals and victimisation

In everyday life, victimisation and harassment can mean different things to different people. When the university deals with victimisation, it should lead to the victimisation ceasing and the workplace having a good working environment for everyone. It is not okay to treat anyone badly, you should treat each other with respect and consideration. Below are definitions of the forms of victimisation that employers must investigate, stop and prevent.

Harassment is defined as conduct that violates a person’s dignity and that is associated with one of the grounds of discrimination:

  • sex
  • transgender identity or expression
  • ethnicity
  • religion or other belief
  • disability
  • sexual orientation
  • age.

Harassment includes expressing derogatory or ridiculing generalisations linked to the grounds of discrimination. Both harassment and sexual harassment are a form of discrimination and are prohibited in accordance with the Discrimination Act.

Sexual harassment is conduct of a sexual nature that violates someone’s dignity. It includes touching, jokes, images and sexually suggestive proposals and invitations that are unwelcome and humiliating. Sexual harassment can also include sexual jargon and unwelcome complements or comments about a person’s appearance.

Reprisals are when a person, in their capacity as employer or education provider, takes action against an employee or student that suggests punishment or revenge. These include actions, statements or omissions that may result in injury or discomfort for an individual. This may involve awarding lower grades, making working conditions worse, allocating unreasonable workloads or withdrawing duties. A person who has reported harassment, sexual harassment or victimisation must not be subjected to reprisals. This also applies to a person who has drawn attention to such an event, participated in an investigation, and a person who has rejected or given in (agreed to against their will) to harassment, sexual harassment or victimisation.

Victimisation is defined as actions that insult, offend, or are abusive towards one or more people. These actions can result in ill-health or exclude a person from the workplace or study group community. Victimisation is not linked to the grounds of discrimination. Examples of victimisation include not being acknowledged, being called by unwelcomed nicknames, being shunned, excluded from meetings, disregarded, relevant information being deliberately withheld or any other form of inexplicable or unfair treatment.

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Advice if you are subjected to harassment or victimisation

  • Speak up. Sometimes it is obvious that the person doing the harassment should understand that it is offensive. But in many cases, it is important that you who are being harassed make it clear to the person harassing you that this behaviour is unwelcome and that it must stop. This can be done orally, in writing or with the help of somebody you trust. If the situation feels unsafe or threatening, it is better to leave than to speak out.
  • Take notes. Write down what happened and when it happened. This will help you remember specific times, locations and other information that may be crucial during in an investigation into discrimination or victimisation.
  • Seek support. There are several different ways to get support if you are subjected to harassment.
  • Report in near future what happened. Describe the incident, date and location without giving names. You will be contacted by the investigation team and can then provide the names of those involved and any witnesses. 

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What happens after I have made a report

When the investigation team receives a report of suspected harassment via the IA system, the team first contacts the person who submitted the report. The team explains the investigation process, the support available and interviews the reporter based on the person's perception of the situation. The team then assesses whether it is suspected harassment or victimisation and informs the reporter of their assessment. If it is not assessed as suspected harassment/victimisation, the case is referred to another function. If the assessment is that the case should proceed to an investigation, the responsible manager is contacted for information and to obtain authorisation to initiate an investigation. If several managers are involved, they co-operate in the handling.

The investigation team then talks to the person(s) accused. The team will explain the investigation process, what support is available and interview the person(s) about their experience of the situation. The team also talks to any witnesses and collects other relevant information.

The reporter and the person(s) accused have access to all information and have the right of reply.

The investigation team writes a report, which is reviewed by the legal affairs unit and then the responsible manager and the parties receive feedback on the report. The responsible manager handles the case further and informs both parties about the further handling.

Actions and sanctions

If harassment or offence has been identified, the responsible manager must take action to stop the behaviour. If the person accused is a student, the action may be a reprimanding conversation or reporting the matter to SLU's disciplinary board. The board can decide on a warning, suspension for up to six months or dismissal from the programme.

If the person accused is an employee, the measure may be a reprimand, reassignment or referral to the SLU staff disciplinary board. The board can decide on a warning, salary deduction, prosecution, or dismissal.

Follow-up of the case

The responsible manager will establish a plan to follow up on the unwelcome behaviour and ensure that it has stopped, and that the person who reported the behaviour has not been subjected to reprisals. A new investigation will be launched if reprisals are identified.

If harassment or victimisation is reported, the manager should evaluate whether there may be general problems in the group or workplace. The manager should review and strengthen preventive measures to promote equal rights and opportunities.

Registration of the report

The investigation team's report is registered and marked confidential. The report will become public record, meaning anybody can contact SLU to access the document. Before the document can be released, a confidentiality check is carried out, which means that there is a possibility to remove information that is considered sensitive, such as things that can be linked to you and your health.

An overview of the case process and a more detailed description of the procedure can be found in the document with the procedures for harassment, sexual harassment, repraisals and victimisation on the employee website under Internal governing documents.

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Who decides if something is offensive or not

Victimisation, harassment and sexual harassment are all forms of unwelcomed behaviours. The person on the receiving end of the behaviour determines what is unwanted, unwelcome or offensive. This does not always mean that it is victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment in law. Sometimes what has happened does not fit into these categories, which is one reason why incidents should be investigated.

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Support for the person who has been harassed or victimised

If a student believes they have been harassed, sexually harassed or victimised, they can be offered counselling from the student health service linked to their campus or programme. Students can also contact their student union for help and support during the investigation process.

Doctoral students can contact their student union and obtain personal support and advice from the SLU doctoral student ombudsman. The ombudsman will provide information and guidance, and refer the matter on if necessary.

If a doctoral student or member of staff believes they have been harassed, sexually harassed or victimised, they can be offered counselling from the occupational health services. Staff can also contact their union representative or health and safety representative for help and support throughout the process.

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Support for the person accused

Generally, students who are accused of harassment, sexual harassment or victimisation must be offered counselling from the student health service linked to their campus or programme. Students can also contact their student union for help and support during the investigation process. SLU’s student mediators will contact any students involved in matters being brought before the disciplinary board.

Staff who have been accused of harassing, sexually harassing or victimising others will be offered counselling through the occupational health services. Staff can also contact their union representative or health and safety representative for help and support throughout the process.

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Anonymous cases

If the person who feels harassed or victimised wishes to remain anonymous, the university must still investigate and prevent any similar situations from occurring. However, anonymous reports may make taking suitable actions difficult, as the person being accused will not have the chance to respond to the accusations. The university will also be unable to take decisions and implement any measures against the person being accused. In these situations, the university can only take more general actions such as information campaigns and training.

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Expectations of an investigation

When someone feels offended and reports it, there is often an expectation of a clear outcome. The victim often wants some form of redress, which is a natural feeling. The purpose of the investigation is to try to find out what has happened and whether or not it is harassment, sexual harassment, reprisals, victimisation. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to obtain all the information needed to determine what happened, who said or did what and when. Once an investigation has established what happened, who said what and when, an assessment of the incident is made based on the legislation. If it is determined that the incident is a form of victimisation, the responsible manager/head of department must take measures to ensure that it does not happen again, which may also include disciplinary measures.

In some cases, the investigation cannot determine whether what has happened is a form of victimisation, because it is not really known what has happened. The investigation may still show that there are problems in the relationship between the people involved or that there are other work environment factors that need to be addressed.

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If you have seen someone else being victimised

Sometimes, it may be difficult to draw the line between what can be perceived as a joke and what can be perceived as an offence. Generalising about different groups, such as joking about ‘male and female’, has proven to increase the risk of harassment at a workplace.

It is everyone's responsibility to think about how we behave towards each other. If you believe that an employee/student feels victimised or pointed out as a result of banter or a workplace culture, or if you see that somebody is subjected to harassment, it is important that you react. Talk with the person to show that you do not support what you saw. You can also be the one who speaks up if you see somebody being victimised to show others that you do not support what is being said or alluded to. Instead of passively participating, it is better to act one time too many. Encourage and support the victim to report the incident themselves if they feel offended.

Take notes - write down what happened and when it happened. This will help you remember specific times, locations and other information that may be crucial during in an investigation into discrimination or victimisation.

According to the Discrimination Act, employers and education providers are obliged to investigate and take action against harassment.

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