Understanding what harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimization means is an important step in being able to speak up and create a safe study environment. At Chalmers, we have zero tolerance for any of these behaviors – if they occur, we take action against them.
Harassment
Harassment is behaviour that violates someone's dignity. This can include comments, jokes, gestures, or actions that make someone feel uncomfortable, hurt, or excluded.
Examples include:
- someone repeatedly making jokes at your expense,
- being called derogatory names,
- being systematically ignored or excluded from the group.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is unwanted behavior of a sexual nature. It can be verbal, physical, or nonverbal, and it is not always about the intention—but about how it is received.
Examples include:
- Unwelcome comments about someone's body or appearance
- Looks, gestures, noises, or suggestions of a sexual nature
- Unwelcome touching or intrusiveness
- Sexual jokes or jargon that make someone feel uncomfortable
- Repeated, unwanted attempts to make contact and declarations of love
Discrimination
Discrimination means that someone is treated less favorably because of one of the seven grounds for discrimination in the legislation:
- gender
- gender identity or gender expression
- ethnicity
- religion or other belief
- disability
- sexual orientation
- age
Examples include:
- not being allowed to participate on equal terms in a course or activity
- hearing condescending comments related to your background
- decisions concerning you being made on unfair grounds.
Victimization
Victimization refers to actions that cause a person to feel belittled, excluded, or mistreated, even if it is not related to any grounds for discrimination.
Examples include:
- bullying or ostracism
- spreading rumors
- condescending comments about performance or personality
Your feelings are important
It is always you who decides whether something feels unwelcome or uncomfortable for you. No one has the right to make you feel bad or treat you differently.
At the same time, it is good to know that there is sometimes a difference between how something is perceived and how it is defined in law. Even if a situation is not legally classified as harassment or discrimination, we always take your experience seriously. This is important so that we can prevent and deal with problems in the study environment and ensure that no one else has to experience the same thing.
Student support
Here you will find information about the student support we offer. Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have questions regarding your studies or your health.
