Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Stalking, Bullying

Discrimination is the disadvantaging of people on the basis of a characteristic worthy of protection, such as gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual identity or religion.

The decisive factor for a disadvantage is the result, but not the motive (intention, thoughtlessness, general administrative practice, etc.).

The first point of orientation is the Fair Play Guideline of the University of Passau. This provides information on rights, obligations and procedures for conflict resolution.

The staff of the Executive Support Unit for Diversity and Gender Equality are also available as contact persons.

Employees can also contact the AGG Complaints Office.

Further information on contact points can be found here.

Sexual harassment is defined as any ‘unwelcome, sexually motivated behaviour including unwanted sexual acts or invitation to those acts, physical contact of sexual nature, the making of obscene remarks or the unwanted display of pornographic contents [which] aims at or results in the degradation of the affected individual, thus creating a hostile environment.’ (§ 3 sec. 4 General Equal Treatment Act ).

Sexual harassment can be expressed through sexually suggestive jokes, classifying looks, unwelcome physical contact, degrading or sexist remarks on one’s appearance, behaviour or private life. Other forms can be approaches and unwanted requests, often including threats or promises of rewards. In extreme cases of sexual harassment, stalking, sexual assault or rape may occur.

All verbal, non-verbal and physical approaches which the victim perceives as unwelcome, inappropriate, threatening, degrading or humiliating are to be seen as sexual harassment.

Cases of sexual harassment should not be considered mere results of misunderstanding or hypersensitivity. Sexual perpetrators know exactly that their behaviour is inappropriate and harasses their victim.

Sexualized violence is the use of sexually motivated violence in which sexuality is used to exercise power. In many cases, sexual perpetrators make use of a power gap between them and their victim and their victim’s dependency.

Many of those affected do not take action, but react with shame and flight. They try to cover up their experiences by ignoring, repressing, adapting to the behaviour of the perpetrator or by responding in a quick-witted and joking manner. However, it is hardly possible to deal with the situation in a helpful way and above all to de-escalate and clarify the situation.

Far more effective are offensive strategies, such as open, clear, verbal and physical defence, also in front of witnesses, written documentation of the incidents and talking about the situation with confidants or professionals.

• Acknowledge your own feelings. Do not dismiss boundary violations as "not so bad" for fear of offending or insulting the other person.
• Do not try to deal with the situation alone. Seek help from friends, acquaintances, people you trust, social institutions etc.
• In acute threatening situations, involve the public or other people, so that the perpetrator can be deterred.
• Document the sexual harassment in written form.
• If you try to avoid situations that you find threatening or unpleasant, you limit yourself in your lifestyle. Choose an active and offensive method of confrontation.
• Clearly set your boundaries. Make it firmly clear how such behaviour affects you. Make a firm and clear request to stop such behaviour.
• Contact one of the university's contact persons.

The first point of orientation is the Fair Play Guideline of the University of Passau. This provides information on rights, obligations and procedures for conflict resolution.

Members of the University of Passau can also contact the following direct contact persons or offices of the university at any time:

• Equal Opportunities Officer
• Human Resources Department
• Staff Council
• University Women's Officer
• Supervisor
• For employees: AGG Complaints Office

Information on knockout drops can be found on the website of the psychological counselling centre of the University of Passau.

Stalking is the deliberate and persistent stalking and harassment of an individual, which can take the form of indirect attacks on and invasion of the individual's privacy as well as direct, physical attacks. Stalking poses a potential danger to the victim, who is severely restricted and impaired in his or her lifestyle and development as a result. The victim's active confrontation with the situation is therefore indispensable.

According to § 238 StGB, a person unlawfully stalks a person if he or she persistently

"1. seeks out his or her physical proximity,
2. attempts to establish contact with him or her by using means of telecommunication or other means of communication or through third parties,
3. places orders for goods or services for him or causes third parties to contact him by misusing his personal data,
4. threatens him with injury to life, physical integrity, health or freedom of himself or a person close to him, or
5. commits another comparable act and thereby seriously interferes with his or her way of life".

• Often it is someone from the circle of acquaintances, more rarely an unknown person.
• The stalker wants to attract the victim's attention and exercise power over the victim.
• In order to achieve this, measures such as lying in wait and following the victim are resorted to.
• Psycho-terror in the form of constant attempts to contact the victim (in person, by telephone, internet, by post) are characteristic. Physical violence is rare.

Active action is an indispensable prerequisite for warding off the stalker.

• Do not allow yourself to be intimidated.
• Make it very clear to the stalker that you do not want any contact with him or her. It is important to be absolutely consistent. Renewed attention will only encourage the stalker in his or her intentions.
• Be careful with your personal data in social networks. Block the stalker.
• Involve the public to protect yourself. Inform your family, acquaintances, neighbours, fellow students and colleagues about your situation.
• Inform the police immediately (emergency number 110) if the stalker is threatening you.
• Document every single contact made by the stalker. This can serve as evidence. Involve your friends and family here as well. Make sure you have witnesses.
• In cases such as telephone terror or cyber-stalking, contact the police and their telephone or internet company. They can offer you various ways to protect yourself against such assaults.
• File a report with the police. The stalker can be shown limits in this way.
• Seek legal advice on whether and how you can take action against the stalker. You can find lawyers in the chamber district in the list of members of the Rechtsanwaltskammer München (Munich Bar Association).
•  Information on legal aid from a court or the possibilities of reimbursement of lawyer's fees
• Ask at the local court (Amtsgericht), Family Matters Division, about the possibility of a court order imposing a restraining order (Annäherungs-/Kontaktverbot). The responsible court in Passau is the Amtsgericht/Familiensachen, Schustergasse 4, 0851/3940.

The first point of orientation is the Fair Play Guideline of the University of Passau. This provides information on rights, obligations and procedures for conflict resolution.

Further information on contact points can be found here.

Unfortunately, there is no uniform, internationally recognised definition of bullying. In most cases, bullying takes place in connection with an abuse of power in which the victims have difficulties in defending themselves. In the workplace, bullying can have the aim of driving the person out of the company. In the process, the affected person may be continually teased, harassed, shunned in a passive form as a refusal to make contact with the majority, or have their dignity violated in some other way.

Frequency distribution with regard to authorship:

•     44 % colleagues
•     37% superiors
•     10 % Colleagues together with superiors
•     9 % Subordinates

1. It is a permanent condition or frequently recurring problem, and not an individual case.
2. The misdeeds against the victim show a systematic pattern, they are committed regularly or on certain occasions, or the attacks increase, intensify or accumulate.
3. The perpetrator affects the victim through typical acts of bullying such as:

• Sabotage of work results
• Insults
• Rumours
• Arbitrary acts
• Humiliations
• Open hostility with very uneven distribution of aggression
• Complete exclusion from the circle of colleagues and ignoring of the victim
• Communication devices disappear or become conspicuously defective
• Exclusion from the flow of information

5. There is a recognisable reprehensible intention on the part of the perpetrator: the victim is to be sabotaged, ousted from a privileged position, pushed out of the team or the company.
6. The attacks are aimed at the personality or the reputation of the victim, they are meant to wear him down, humiliate him, weaken him, the victim is to be made out to be incapable, insecure, not a team player.

• Make a note of all acts of bullying in the form of a diary.
• Write to the person who is bullying and ask them to stop.
• If the bullying is discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnic origin, gender, religion, disability, age or sexual identity, then the bullying violates the Anti-Discrimination Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz). You have a right of complaint.
• Contact one of the contact persons at the University of Passau.

The first point of orientation is the Fair Play Guideline of the University of Passau. This provides information on rights, obligations and procedures for conflict resolution.

Members of the University of Passau, including all students, can also contact the following direct contact persons or offices of the University at any time:

•     Equal Opportunities Officer
•     Human Resources Department
•     Staff Council
•     University Women's Officer
•     Supervisor
•     Faculty Women's Representative
•     Representatives of the Student Parliament
•     Student Representative for Poeple with Disabilities
•     Students Representative for International Students
•     Student Representatives  for Student Exployees and Mid-Level-Staff
•     Thread Management Team 

Further information on contact persons can be found here.