Safe study environment
As a student at SEDU, it is important that you feel safe in your study environment. The university therefore actively works to promote gender equality and equal treatment in our education.
Part of this work is to actively prevent any harassment, sexual harassment and abusive treatment. SEDU therefore investigates cases of harassment and abuse that occur and come to the attention of the university. When a teacher, or any other employee of the university, becomes aware of any form of harassment or abuse, an investigation must be initiated. The university must find out what has happened, make sure that it does not continue and ensure that it does not happen again. The investigation should give all those involved an opportunity to provide their view of the incident(s). It is important that the investigation is started quickly so that the university can implement the measures needed to provide a safe learning environment.
How an investigation is conducted
SEDU has an obligation to start an investigation if it comes to our attention that a student is experiencing harassment, sexual harassment, retaliation, or abusive treatment. The person responsible for conducting an investigation is the Director of Studies (or equivalent) at the program where the harassment occurred.
If you report any harassment or abuse, you will be assigned a contact person as soon as the university finds out what has happened and starts an investigation. The contact person may be the Director of Studies, the SEDU Equal Opportunities Officer, the Student Counsellor or another person you trust. The Director of Studies is responsible for assigning you a contact person and keeping you informed during the investigation.
During the investigation there will be interviews with those involved in the incident(s), i.e. the person who experienced the harassment or abuse, the person(s) who are alleged to have harassed or abused, and any witnesses. The interviews are conducted individually with the person involved, any accompanying person for support and those responsible for the investigation at the SEDU. An accompanying person may be a friend, parent or representative of the student union. During the meeting, there will be information about the investigation and the support available, for example, through the student health service.
The aim of the investigation is to
- find out what has happened,
- decide on appropriate measures,
- ensure that the harassment, sexual harassment, retaliation or abusive treatment stops and that it does not happen again.
- Once the investigation is complete, SEDU will decide whether what occurred is considered harassment or abuse from a legal perspective. If the investigation shows that harassment or abuse has occurred, it will also describe what measures the SEDU will implement to ensure that something similar does not happen again.
After the investigation and when measures have been implemented, SEDU will follow up to ensure that the harassment has stopped.
If you have experienced harassment or abuse, and you, for some reason, are not satisfied with the SEDU investigation or decision, you can turn to the Discrimination Ombudsman. It is not possible to appeal an investigation decision at SEDU.
What happens after the investigation?
First, the SEDU conducts an investigation and decides whether what has happened constitutes harassment or bullying. If the incident is legally considered harassment or abusive treatment, it may lead to certain consequences. These consequences will depend on how serious the incident is and how the study environment was affected by the incident.
Disciplinary measures for students
If a student has harassed another student, this may lead to a warning or suspension from studies. The SEDU Disciplinary Committee will decide on disciplinary measures for students.
Disciplinary measures for employees
Harassment of a student by an SEDU employee may result in a warning, pay cut, reassignment or dismissal. The SEDU Human Resources Committee decides on disciplinary action for employees.
If the investigation does not prove harassment
Even if the investigation does not prove harassment or abusive from a legal perspective, actions may still be required to address an unsafe study environment or other issues or misconduct.