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Crisis and problem situations

Sivusto: HYY moodle
Kurssi: Event Safety Manual
Kirja: Crisis and problem situations
Tulostanut: Vierailija
Tulostettu: Monday 20. May 2024, 22.09

Sisällysluettelo

1. Excessive drunkenness


If alcohol is served at your party, you should use your discretion when serving it. Monitor the situation and do not serve more alcohol to people who are too drunk.

If a participant is extremely drunk, follow these steps:

1. If the participant has passed out and cannot be fully woken up, call an ambulance.
2. Offer the person some water and, if possible, take them to a separate room to sober up.
3. If the person recovers and you feel that they can make it home alone, send them home and ensure that they get there.
4. If the person is really drunk, you can try to get one of their friends to take them home or, if possible, take them there yourself. You can always also call the emergency number and ask for further instructions.  
5. If you let the person sleep it off somewhere, make sure that they are lying on their side. If the person can sleep at the venue, check on their condition from time to time.

2. Drug use

HYY’s premises and events have zero tolerance for drug use.

If there is suspicion of a participant having used illegal drugs or using them at the event, follow these steps:

1. Tell the person that there is a complete ban on using drugs in the premises.
2. Ask the the person to leave the event.
3. Contact the person after the event and explain to them again that using illegal drugs at the organisation’s events is forbidden.
4. If the use continues, the person can be banned from the organisation’s events.

3. Drugging case

It may be difficult to prove that drugging has taken place but even suspicion of it is strong enough grounds for following these steps:  

1. Take the person to a separate, quiet room. Do not leave them alone.
2. Call 112 and ensure that the person gets into the ambulance.
3. Suspend the event and tell all the participants what has happened. However, remember to protect the victim’s identity. No personal information of theirs may be revealed to the other participants.
4. If possible, discuss the matter with the event organisers during the same evening.

5. Contact HYY’s specialist in organisations or secretary general. More detailed instructions are available in the sections of this guide covering how to deal with a crisis and crisis communication.

4. The situation is about to turn aggressive

1. Try to calmly intervene in the situation without endangering your own safety.

2. Do not explain or call anything into question. Listen and show sympathy. ‘I understand that you are angry. What is causing it?’ If the person talks, it is likely that they will not be causing trouble at the same time.

3. If the situation seems serious, follow these instructions:


Someone’s behaviour is particularly aggressive:

1. Call in the guard and, if needed, call the emergency response centre. You can always call 112 if you believe it is needed.

2. Do not endanger the safety of yourself or anyone else.

3. Try to get the person away from others either by leaving them alone in a certain space or outside it.

4. Do not follow them outside or into the space. Wait for the guard or police to arrive instead.

5. Self-destructive behaviour or threats thereof

1. Try to prevent the person from having opportunities to harm themselves.

2. Try to get the person into a quiet room and listen to them. Do not leave the person alone.

3. Call the emergency response centre and follow their instructions.

6. Harassment and inappropriate behaviour

You can read more detailed instructions on how to take action against harassment and inappropriate behaviour in HYY’s Equality Guide for Organisations.

1. If you see or hear harassment or inappropriate behaviour, try to put a stop to the situation. You can, for instance, join the conversation or question any inappropriate comments. It is not always entirely clear whether what is happening constitutes harassment or bullying. If you are unsure about it, just join the conversation and ask whether everything is okay.
 
2. Support and listen to the person who has experienced harassment. Ask them what kind of help they need and how they would like you to act in the situation. We recommend taking the person to the side so that you can discuss matters privately. Sometimes, the person does not want to start resolving the situation immediately, or this is not advisable due to them being upset or intoxicated, for instance. Make sure that the person is not left alone. Set up a time for continuing the discussion.
 
3. Once you know how the person who has experienced harassment wants you to act, try to follow their wishes.

4. Discuss the incident with the person accused of harassment, too. Remain as calm and neutral as possible and take the person to the side. The person in question does not necessarily realise that they have done something wrong. Give them constructive feedback and explain how their behaviour can be interpreted as wrong or harmful or how it has distressed another person. Stress that the other person’s subjective experience is genuine even if the person meant no harm. Offer advice on how the person could improve their behaviour.

5. Know your own limits. Conflict and harassment situations put a strain on the people resolving them, too. Make sure that you do not take on too much responsibility by directing people towards other providers of help, too. You do not need to suddenly become a health care or crisis situation professional. Most common contact information for crisis situations are available here.

7. Inappropriate behaviour during an academic dinner party

During academic dinner parties, both the persons in charge of event safety and the songmasters can step in if someone behaves inappropriately. At the beginning of the dinner party, we recommend telling and showing the participants who are serving as the persons in charge of event safety and stressing that people can go talk to them in any situation. Inappropriate behaviour includes inappropriate songs or additional verses, offensive heckling and punishments that violate another person’s integrity.

1. You can react to inappropriate behaviour during the incident itself. An offensive song can be interrupted by initiating a toast, for instance.

2. If the harassment has been aimed at a specific person, this person should be shown some support in the situation. During a break, you should go ask them if they are okay and whether they want further action to be taken.

3. After the incident, the person behaving inappropriately should be told why you acted the way you did.

8. Stranger at the event

Foster an atmosphere where everyone says hi to one another and gets acquainted with the people they do not already know. Reflect on how to communicate to outsiders about the rules and principles in place at your events in advance.

1. Introduce yourself and show genuine interest in who the stranger is. Avoid prejudice, accusations or any other preconceived attitude. Tell the person about the principles in place in the premises and who they can contact should any problems arise.
2. If the stranger behaves badly, introduce yourself anyway and ask them who they are, how they ended up at the event and whether they are aware of the principles in place at the event. If the behaviour is not serious at this point, call their attention to their behaviour and emphasise that everyone is required to commit to the shared rules.
3. If the stranger is already exhibiting seriously inappropriate behaviour towards others, take them to the side and discuss their behaviour with them. Assess the situation: could their behaviour still be fixed and forgiven at the current event or is it better to remove the person from the event? This depends on the nature of the behaviour, who reported it and what that person’s experience is (for instance, if the person reporting the behaviour is feeling unsafe because of the inappropriately behaving individual, this is a strong argument in favour of removing the person from the event). If the person is removed from the premises, take down their contact information so that you can explain the situation to them once they are sober / have calmed down and the situation is no longer acute.
4. After the event, it is a good idea to discuss among yourselves in your organisation what you can do better in the future. What kind of principles did the event have in place on entry to it? Was the event open? How was access to the event controlled, did everything work as intended?

9. Aftercare for people who have experienced a crisis

If you encounter a person or group that has experienced a sudden shocking event, follow these steps:

1. Do not leave anyone alone.

2. Find a quiet spot where you can sit down together.

3. Give the person(s) in crisis some space to talk, and listen to them without interrupting.

4. Remain calm. Calm presence in itself often helps a lot.

5. Accept any reactions (crying, silence, etc.).

6. Ask what kind of help the people who have experienced the crisis wish to receive and guide them to the right parties.

7. Do not remain alone with your own experience – talk about it with a reliable person.