Safe UHK

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is defined as conduct, including omissions, where one person is or would be treated less favourably than another person in a comparable situation on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief, world view or citizenship. There should also be no unequal/unfavourable treatment in the higher education on the grounds of affiliation to a study programme, year or unit of study (this may include, for example, prejudice against people's abilities on the basis of their affiliation to a unit, of their field of study or in relation to the year of study), hereafter referred to as “affiliation to study”.

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination is defined as an act or omission where, on the basis of an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice, a person is placed at a disadvantage compared to others (on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief, world view, citizenship, or study affiliation).

Discrimination includes harassment, sexual harassment, stalking, instruction to discriminate and incitement to discriminate.

What is not discrimination under the law?

Measures designed to prevent or compensate for disadvantages on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief or world view and to ensure equal treatment and equal opportunities shall not be regarded as discrimination if the difference in treatment is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving it are proportionate and necessary.

Examples of discrimination:

Persons are treated differently on the basis of prohibited grounds (often irrational prejudices related to race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief, worldview, citizenship, and/or study affiliation). For example, people are called offensive names, unfairly evaluated, excluded from the collective/community, treated unfavourably, subject to derogatory comments, subject to inadequate demands, etc.

Persons are treated differently on the basis of their gender. This behaviour includes derogatory remarks about women or men, typically based on stereotypes and prejudices (e.g., women are not as good at maths as men), the use of derogatory names related to the sexual orientation of the persons concerned, different expectations of women and men (one group is expected more/less than the other), unwelcome sexual advances (verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature).

Harassment means unwanted conduct on the basis of race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief, world view, or nationality, which is intended or has the effect of lowering a person's dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, or which may reasonably be perceived as a condition for a decision affecting the exercise of rights and obligations arising from legal relations. Examples include negative remarks, offensive gestures or derogatory messages to the victim on the basis of the above.

Sexual harassment is defined as conduct that has the characteristics of the above harassment and is also sexual in nature.

Examples of inappropriate behaviour in a university environment

Examples of sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment ranges from unwanted touching, gestures and inappropriate jokes to the promise of a good grade/promotion in exchange for intimate favours, to sexual assault which can result in bodily harm as well as psychological and emotional trauma.

Sexual harassment does not always have to be “sexual”, it can also be intimidation, offensive comments based on stereotypes or bullying based on gender or gender identity.

Such conduct may include: Inappropriate or challenging comments about someone's appearance or body, insults/invectives based on gender or sexuality, repeated unsolicited/unwanted requests for dates or intimacy from a fellow student, faculty member, or other University staff, inappropriate or lewd comments, jokes about sex, or making fun of people based on their gender identity or sexuality (“all women...” or “gay people are...”), unsolicited messages of a sexual nature, unwanted touching of any part of the body, gestures of a sexual nature, etc.

Bullying is also behaviour that is intended to harm, threaten or intimidate a person or group of persons. Bullying is aggressive behaviour towards another person or group of persons. It is repeated (not necessarily) behaviour that is based on a conscious, deliberate, intentional and usually covert effort to harm physically, emotionally and/or socially. Any single psychological or physical attack whose intent is consistent with the above characteristics of bullying (including attacks that bear the characteristics of a criminal, extremist or terrorist attack) is also unacceptable in the UHK environment. Bullying is characterized by disproportionate force, helplessness of the victim, unpleasantness of the attack to the victim, and self-serving nature of the aggression.

Bullying/cyberbullying can occur in both academic and work environments.

Direct bullying

It can take the form of physical (e.g., hitting, spitting, hair pulling, inappropriate touching, etc.) or non-physical, i.e., verbal (e.g., profanity, sexually inappropriate language, hurtful comments about race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality; cruel and hurtful comments about personal appearance or character, threats, violent and manipulative commands, or non-verbal (i.e., offensive gestures and sounds, staring, taunting, use of intimidating or threatening facial expressions or body language, hitting or throwing objects, destroying/keeping/stealing things, etc.) bullying.

Indirect bullying

It aims to cause emotional and psychological suffering and damage the social status of the victim. This bullying is carried out in a way where the person attacking inflicts pain in such a way that it appears that there is no real intention to do so. The aggressor often uses an intermediary to attack, rather than attacking directly. Indirect bullying is usually non-physical; however, in some cases a third party may also be manipulated into a situation where they are intended to cause physical harm. Non-physical forms of indirect bullying may include deliberate ignoring or isolating the person, covertly destroying or stealing personal belongings, spreading malicious rumours and lies, making unjustified accusations of sexual harassment, destroying reputations, humiliating others, and making unpleasant sexual provocations.

Cyberbullying

It is a form of bullying that is applied through information and communication technologies. It can take the form of, for example, setting up fake profiles in the name of the victim with derogatory content, presenting degrading videos, presenting hurtful comments on the web, sending vulgar or threatening collages with the face of the victim or his/her family members, threatening SMSs or e-mails, etc.

It is workplace bullying where the victim perceives that he or she is repeatedly and over a prolonged period of time the target of negative behaviour by one or more persons and finds it difficult to defend himself or herself against this behaviour. Mobbing can be briefly characterised as systematic behind-the-scenes scheming, restraint, terror directed by colleagues in the workplace or directly by a superior, with the aim of forcing the person concerned to leave the workplace of his or her own free will. The main forms of mobbing may include: threats, accusations and criticism, humiliation and ridicule, social isolation, withholding information, obstruction of work performance, excessive control, gossip, assignment of undignified/impossible/meaningless tasks, invasion of privacy, denial of information to which the person has a right.

Bossing is bullying by the supervisor. It is the practice of the supervisor to force compliance, obedience or expel the person from the workplace. Bullying by subordinates is called staffing and is manifested by unfair attacks against an individual in a managerial position intended to harm the person or his/her work team or institution.

Repeated, systematic, long-term harassment by unsolicited text messages, e-mails, Skype, various types of chat, phone calls, unwanted attention, possibly repeated targeted surveillance of a person, can be considered stalking. The content of these messages can be pleasant to cheerful, but also offensive, intimidating. The stalker may be a person the victim may know, but also a complete stranger. The UHK strongly cautions against obtaining contact information outside of professional/study needs (e.g., obtaining a telephone number from the UHK systems in order to contact a person for the purpose of an intimate encounter).

Behaviour which, in general terms, includes negative attitudes and behaviour expressing hostility based on prejudice because of a person's or group's race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief, world view or citizenship is considered to be inappropriate/risky behaviour. Risky behaviour which has the characteristics of racist, xenophobic or extremist behaviour is not tolerated by the UHK. The manifestations of such behaviour take many forms, from verbal assault, through visual or electronic attacks, to physical attacks on persons or their property. Racist behaviour can manifest itself in the form of exclusion, i.e. exclusion from various activities and social groups or underestimation of the abilities and potential of certain persons.

In the event of an acute crisis, contact the Crisis Line of the CDZ RIAPS Trutnov which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 702 256 762 (for more information, visit www.riaps.cz).The services of the Centre and the Crisis Line are free of charge and are provided confidentially and with a guarantee of confidentiality of the worker. The experts of the Centre and the Crisis Line can help you with the possibility of further action to resolve the situation (mediation, information on whom to contact, anonymous consultations with experts, etc.).

If you or another person (or group of persons) find yourself in a situation that shows signs of the above-mentioned inappropriate behaviour, and it is not an acute crisis requiring immediate professional help for the person concerned, you have several options for dealing with the matter.

Expert assistance from the UHK Counselling Centre

If you are in an uncomfortable situation and feel the need for professional help, you can contact the UHK Point which offers psychological and therapeutic support. 

The staff at the Psychotherapy Support Centre offers a free initial contact and consultation. The recommended first step in crisis cases and challenging situations where there is no risk to your life or your surroundings is to first contact the university psychologist, psychotherapist and crisis interventionist Mgr. Damián Kastner. He can be contacted by e-mail: damian.kastner@uhk.cz. For the purpose of dealing with inappropriate behaviour, it is also possible to use a one-off consultation with Mgr. Kastner at the UHK. He is available every Tuesday from 13:00-14:00. Before meeting in person, you must write to Mr. Kastner or book a contact at poradna@uhk.cz. 

Help outside UHK

• ProFEM – Helping Domestic and Sexual Violence Victims 

• Helpline e-mail: poradna@profem.cz  
• https://www.profem.cz/en/ 

• Blue Line – help in crisis 

• Helpline e-mail: help@modralinka.cz 
• https://www.modralinka.cz/english 

• Persefona – Help for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence  

• Helpline e-mail: poradna@persefona.cz, domacinasili@persefona.cz 

• Tel.: +420 737 834 345, +420 545 245 996 
• https://www.persefona.cz//EN 

What to do when I am in crisis?  

Any of us can find ourselves in a crisis. Crisis is even a natural part of our lives. You are probably now wondering what to do when you yourself are experiencing an acute crisis. It is possible that you are crying or feeling regret, or conversely, anger, rage, or frustration. You may be thinking about ending your life. You may not be able to think rationally. You have experienced something so extremely negative that you may be experiencing shock and denial. You may stop feeling yourself and fully experiencing the world around you. You may perceive that you are somehow behind a glass wall or feel that life is happening out there without you or outside of you. You may not know or be able to describe how you feel because you don't feel anything at all. Follow the steps described below under “Who to contact”. If you feel that you cannot cope with the situation, or the physical and mental symptoms are getting worse, call 155. You can also report the situation to the nearest person present. 

If you witness a crisis situation, an emergency situation or a risky act where a person is in danger of his or her own life or endangering others, always call first for help via the emergency services 112, 155, 158.

Then proceed according to the situation:

A) A person in crisis with a recognizable change in state of consciousness

It cannot be excluded that the person will act under the influence of addictive substances (alcohol, drugs, etc.). The person may also be acutely experiencing an episode of severe mental illness.

The following applies:

1. Call emergency services and
2. Your protection always comes first.

If you assess that your attempt to prevent a risky situation will not put you at immediate risk in the subsequent situation (e.g., rescuing a suicidal person from a window frame, etc.), try to prevent bodily harm. In this situation, always call emergency services initially, even if the person refuses.

B) Crisis

Outside of the above case, the person may be in acute personal crisis (no change in state of consciousness). He or she may have confided in you that he or she is thinking about suicide, e.g., that he or she “just can't go on anymore”, etc. Try to make contact and keep it as long as possible. Try to calm yourself down. Everyone can experience a state of panic as a result of reacting to the situation of the person in crisis. Breathe freely and ask open-ended questions like “how are you?” and show understanding, do not evaluate negative thoughts (e.g., suicidal thoughts). If you assess that the person's life is in danger and the situation is serious, inform them of your civic duty to contact the emergency services in such a situation. If the person agrees and stays, maintain contact with them until the emergency services arrive. Try to arrange for follow-up services especially if the crisis or its effects persist. The person may refuse and leave. You have done as much as possible. It is not possible to prevent an adult from leaving.

If you decide to report an inappropriate act of which you have been a victim or witness, the Ethics Committee of the UHK has been established for this purpose and will deal with your initiative.

All persons involved in dealing with the initiative are obliged to maintain confidentiality. Your initiative will therefore be dealt with exclusively in a discreet manner, with a guarantee of confidentiality and sensitive handling of the problematic situation.

The Commission deals with the examination of cases of violation of the principles contained in the UHK Code of Ethics on the basis of submitted initiatives. 

There are two ways of submitting an initiative: 

• Electronically to etickakomise@uhk.cz; 

• In paper form to the address of the UHK Registrar and Registry, in an envelope marked “UHK Ethics Committee – do not open”. 

The content of the initiative to be investigated by the Ethics Committee of the UHK shall include:  

• Information about the individual who submits the initiative; 
• Description of the breach that happened according to the submitter (referring to the respective provision of the UHK Code of Ethics); 
• Evidence allowing the review of the described breach;
• Date and signature. 

The Committee shall meet as soon as the initiative is lodged, but no later than 3 months after the initiative is lodged.  

The composition of the Committee, its rules and other information can be found on the website of the UHK Ethics Committee. 

In accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law, the UHK accepts initiative electronically at whistleblowing@uhk.cz.  

In the event that an employee has committed inappropriate behaviour, the relevant provisions of Act No.262/2006 Sb., the Labour Code, will be applied, i.e., for example, a warning, a letter of reprimand, notice to terminate employment or immediate termination of employment, taking into account the seriousness of the inappropriate behaviour. 

If a student has committed inappropriate behaviour, the procedure is in accordance with the internal regulations of the UHK; in particular the disciplinary regulations of the UHK faculties, and in serious cases, the student may be expelled. 

Above and beyond the above, inappropriate behaviour may constitute a misdemeanour or a criminal offence and may result in the matter being referred to the law enforcement authorities. In such a case, the perpetrator may also face administrative or criminal sanctions.  

In the case of false accusations, an initiative can be filed with the UHK Ethics Committee (see the previous text “How and to whom can I formally report inappropriate behaviour at the UHK?”). The UHK will use equivalent means to those used to sanction inappropriate behaviour when sanctioning a knowingly false accusation.