How to act in harassment situations

1. Instructions for those who have experienced harassment

1. Tell the person behaving inappropriately that their behaviour is inappropriate. Tell them that you do not accept their behaviour and ask them to stop. If you cannot or dare not approach the harasser yourself, ask a friend, someone involved in the organisation or someone else to point this out to the person. The harasser may simply not understand that they are behaving in an offensive manner.
2. If you wish, you can leave the situation. You have no obligation to continue talking with the harasser. However, do not remain alone with your experience! You can, for instance, contact someone involved in the organisation or a harassment contact person when you are ready for it.
3. If the harassment continues, write down what happened, when the situation occurred, who were present and what was said. Save any possible emails and messages, too, as this will make it easier to process the matter later.
4. Tell someone about the inappropriate behaviour:
• If another student behaves inappropriately in a teaching situation, contact the teacher responsible for the course or some other member of the University staff.
• If a member of staff behaves inappropriately, contact the University’s harassment contact persons.
• If the harassment takes place in a student organisation, you should primarily contact the people involved in the organisation or, if needed, HYY’s harassment contact persons.
• If the harassment takes place under HYY’s activities or a similar situation, you can contact HYY’s harassment contact persons.
• If you suspect a crime, always contact the police. If you are not sure whether what happened constitutes a crime, you can contact Victim Support Finland.
5. Remember to look after your own wellbeing. If you want to discuss the incident with someone, you can also contact the FSHS’s services or some other provider of help. You can seek help from the party you feel is the most natural for yourself.