How to identify and prevent harassment?
4. Characteristics of harassment in organisational activities
Organisational activities are unique in nature, and certain characteristics typical of organisational activities:
- Peer culture, voluntary nature, part-time nature, leisure time
- Responsibilities are shared with volunteers
- Project nature, fixed terms
- There are no fixed communities or groups involved in the activities
- Hobby nature
- The activities may include games, camps or politics
- Diverse spheres of operation
- Employees, persons of trust, volunteers and target groups are all mixed up
- Diverse forms of contact
- Social media, digital communities
- Partying
Due to these distinctive features of organisational activities, certain characteristics are also emphasised in harassment situations. The following are among the issues identified in student organisations:
- Restricted community
- The harassers are known, but no one knows how to take action against their behaviour
- People find it difficult to take action against the inappropriate behaviour of their friends and acquaintances
- Slander and rumours spread effectively
- Conversational norms
- Insensitive ways of talking and racy jokes
- Touching and commenting veiled in familiarity
- Party culture
- The use of intoxicants and harassment done while drunk
- Inappropriate sitsi songs and heckling at academic dinner parties