Harassment contact persons
JYY’s harassment contact persons provide support for students who have experienced harassment, abuse, bullying, racism, discrimination, or other inappropriate behavior. On this page, you will find more information about the activities of the harassment contact persons, guidance on recognizing inappropriate behavior, and information on where to get support in situations involving harassment.
What do the harassment contact persons do?
You can contact the harassment contact persons with a low threshold if you encounter harassment at the university or at student events. Making contact does not obligate you to anything, and even just a conversation can help clarify the situation. The harassment contact persons listen, support, and help you consider how to proceed in the situation. They do not act as judges or resolve the situation on your behalf; rather, their role is to support you in processing the harassment situation and to provide information about different options. If necessary, the harassment contact persons can also direct you to additional support services.
If you wish, you can also turn to a student well-being tutor (“hyvis”), YTHS, a chaplain, or a university student well-being specialist. Discussions with harassment contact persons are strictly confidential, and no actions are taken without the consent of the person involved.
Harassment contact persons also provide support to organizations operating under JYY. If an organization does not have its own harassment contact persons, it is good practice to inform participants about the student union’s harassment contact persons. More complex cases should also be handled with them. JYY follows safer space principles in its activities and recommends that organizations also create their own guidelines.
How to recognize inappropriate behavior and harassment
Epäasiallinen kohtelu on kielteistä käyttäytymistä, jota ei voida pitää yleisen hyvän tavan mukaisena. Epäasiallinen käyttäytyminen voi olla loukkaavien kommenttien esittämistä, sosiaalista eristämistä, juoruilua, mustamaalaamista, nolaamista, huutamista, haukkumista, aiheetonta arvostelua, uhkaavaa käyttäytymistä tai aiheetonta virheistä muistuttamista.
Häirintä voi kohdistua esimerkiksi ikään, ihonväriin, mielipiteisiin, vakaumukseen, seksuaalisuuteen tai sukupuoleen. Häirintää on loukkaava käytös sanoin, toimin tai asentein. Vihjailu, asiaton ilmehtiminen ja elehtiminen, sopimaton koskettelu, asiattomat yhteydenotot ja karkea puhe ovat häirintää. Epäasiallista kohtelua ja häirintää ei tule sietää.
What do I do if I face harassment?
If you are subjected to inappropriate treatment or harassment, let the person know that their behavior bothers you. Ask them to stop the disturbing behavior. Sometimes a person may not realize that they are acting in an offensive way. As members of the university community, each of us has an equal right to intervene in such situations. If you were unable to react immediately, you can also bring up the matter with the person afterward, either verbally or in writing. If you do not want to or do not feel able to address the matter directly with the person, you can act according to the following instructions:
Contact JYY’s harassment contact persons, a student well-being tutor (“hyvis”), or a university student well-being specialist.
The handling of cases is situation-specific, but typically the process at JYY proceeds as follows:
- Contact is made to the harassment contact persons by email or phone.
- The harassment contact persons listen to the person who has experienced harassment and ask about their wishes regarding further handling. There is no obligation to proceed with further actions.
- If the person making the report wishes, the other party involved in the situation is contacted. Both parties always have the right to be heard.
- If both parties agree, the harassment contact persons propose joint mediation, where the matter can be discussed and resolved.
- The parties are offered the opportunity for follow-up support if questions arise after the meetings.
- Contact the person’s supervisor, the management of the unit in question, or Human Resources by email at jyu-at-work-feedback@jyu.fi.
- A Human Resources specialist processes messages sent to the above address and forwards them confidentially. The investigation is initiated within two weeks. In serious situations, a contact request with contact details should be left via email, as those handling the case must be able to speak with both parties. The person reporting the matter may, if they wish, remain anonymous to the suspected individual throughout the entire process.
- In cases of other behavior that is contrary to good conduct, you can submit feedback via email, which will be forwarded to the person concerned. In these cases, it is recommended that the feedback also include suggestions on how the person could improve their actions. Since these cases are handled anonymously, no separate report on the resulting actions is provided to the person who submitted the report. The Human Resources contact person forwards the feedback to the person’s supervisor.
Mediation
JYYllä sovittelu perustuu VERSO-ohjelman mukaisesti restoratiivisuuteen. Restorativiinen lähestymistapa korostaa kohtaamista, keskustelua ja yhteistyötä. Sovittelussa osapuolia kunnioitetaan oman konfliktinsa asiantuntijoina ja he toimivat itse aktiivisesti tilanteen ratkaisemisessa. Sovittelun tavoitteena on lisätä osapuolten välistä ymmärrystä ja eheyttää rikkoutunut ihmissuhde niin, että konfliktitilanne ei enää toistu.
Sovittelu on luottamuksellista ja vapaaehtoista. Ennen varsinaista sovittelua sovittelijat tapaavat molempien osapuolten kanssa erikseen, jotta sovittelijat saavat käsityksen tilanteesta. Sovittelutilanteeseen osallistuvat konfliktin kaksi osapuolta ja kaksi koulutettua sovittelijaa JYYltä. Sovittelu soveltuu vain kahdenkeskeisten konfliktien selvittämiseen. Mikäli tapauksen toinen osapuoli on yliopiston henkilökunnan edustaja, on toisena sovittelijana yliopiston edustaja. Osapuolet voivat halutessaan ottaa sovittelutilanteeseen mukaan tukihenkilön. Sovittelussa syntynyt sopimus kirjataan osapuolten muotoilemalla tavalla muistiin ja sopimukseen merkitään seuranta-aika, jolloin tarkastellaan sopimuksen pitämistä.
JYY’s harassment contact persons
Karri Kekkonen
Specialist in Social Affairs
+358 50 307 0540
Suvi Liukkonen
Event Producer
+358 45 137 1961
Petro Pitkänen
Specialist in Member and Association Affairs
+358 50 430 6747