Sexual harassment

The Polytechnic College Jihlava (hereafter referred to as VPŠJ) places great emphasis on prevention and a safe environment for all. It does not accept any form of sexual and gender-based harassment and expects all individuals at the school, its visitors/visitors and contractors to treat each other with mutual respect, consideration and consideration.

Each employee, each staff member, each student has the right to expect professional behaviour from others and is also responsible for his/her own behaviour towards others.

Everyone then has a personal responsibility to uphold these principles and policies:

-     promote a safe environment in which people are treated fairly and with respect

-      declare that harassment is unacceptable and that everyone contributes to creating an environment free from any form of harassment

-     not tolerate any form of harassment and bring unacceptable behaviour to their attention if they witness it

-     provide support to students and staff who feel they are being harassed

-     provide a clearly defined mechanism by which complaints can be addressed

What is sexual harassment

In general, sexual harassment can be defined as inappropriate and unwelcome behaviour with sexual overtones. The essence of sexual harassment (like other types of harassment) is an attempt to gain, increase or assert one's superiority over another person. Sexual harassment can thus be divided into 3 categories:

1. Unwelcome sexual attention

2. sexual blackmail and coercion

3. exploitation of gender stereotypes

Specifically, this may include sexual advances, offers of benefits in return for intimacy or, conversely, threats in the event of refusal (e.g. the awarding of credit, examination or good grades, promotion, financial rewards or other benefits), various forms of psychological coercion such as differential treatment on the basis of gender, materials depicting women or men as sexual objects, the display and distribution of pornographic material or derogatory remarks. It also includes bullying and threatening and hostile behaviour, abusive, unwanted and unrequited verbal and non-verbal behaviour (intimate touching, including in the form of patting, stroking) and physical assault.

All of these can create an unpleasant learning or working environment and atmosphere between learners and teachers or staff and supervisors, or between learners or staff and each other. They can take place both inside and outside the classroom during tutorials, practice sessions or various excursions away from the school premises, and in the case of male and female staff, most often during working hours and in the workplace.

The College of Education bases its position on the following 4 pillars in relation to sexual harassment:

1. Zero tolerance

2. 100% transparency of the process

3. competence of the professional + follow-up organizations

4. sanctions that lead to a safe environment for all

How to behave

First and foremost, it is important to know that such behavior is unacceptable and it is necessary to speak out against it. Tolerating such behavior or placing blame on oneself, dropping a course or dropping an entire course of study, or resigning from employment will not help.

If you are unsure whether you have been sexually harassed, you may contact the psychological counseling center of the College of Education or external non-profit organizations. This service is also available to those against whom harassment charges have been filed. Further sources of help and advice can be found at the links below.

As part of the College's Counseling and Career Center, you can contact psychologist Mgr. Hana Vláčilová, who will be of the utmost help in solving this problem, via the email address psycholog@vspj.cz. All suggestions will be treated seriously and confidentially. It is up to you which way you prefer to deal with it. Both the person in charge and any other persons who may, if you wish, see or hear information from you are bound by strict confidentiality.

If you would like to handle the situation yourself, we recommend written communication. It is a good idea to start by writing an email or other message to the person about the fact that you are uncomfortable with his/her behaviour and that you find it inappropriate and intolerable. The message should state what specifically bothers you and why, and suggest a course of action. If no change is made, you may use the procedure for dealing with breaches of ethics at the VŠPJ as defined in the VŠPJ Code of Ethics, namely:

1. In case of suspected violation of the Code of Ethics of the VŠPJ by the actions of an employee or a student, employees, students and other persons may submit a complaint in written or electronic form to the Office of the Rector of the VŠPJ.
2. The complaint must explicitly contain a statement by the submitter about which provision of the Code of Ethics of the University of Applied Sciences and Technology has been violated. The complaint must be substantiated by the submitter, and the identification of the submitter must be verifiable (e.g. by email of the VŠPJ).
3. Anonymous communication is of an informative nature, it does not have the character of a suggestion.
4. The complaint to the Ethics Committee of the University of Applied Sciences and Technology is forwarded without undue delay by the Head of the Rector's Office directly to the Chair of the Committee.
5. The complaint shall normally be dealt with in cooperation with all parties involved, with the utmost care being taken to protect privacy.

If it is proven that the complainant knew that the complaint was unfounded, the allegations of harassment may be considered harassing or harmful and disciplinary action may be taken against them or a complaint may be filed with the Ethics Commission.

Useful links:

Ethical Code of the Polytechnic University of Jihlava

Have you been a victim of sexual harassment

How to respond to sexual harassment?

What is sexual harassment and how to respond to it (a guide for college students)

Sexual harassment in higher education: why it occurs, how it manifests itself, what can be done about it (a guide for university leaders and lecturers)