Queen's University is s committed to providing a positive experience and safe campus for everyone. We believe that incidents of bullying/harassment are never acceptable.and the University takes a zero tolerance apporach towards such behaviour. Bullying & harassment hurts individuals, communities and reporting it allows the University and the Police to better understand and deal with what is happening.
What is Bullying?
Bullying is defined as behaviour that is repeated, intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally and is often aimed at certain groups, for example because of race, religion, gender or sexuality. Bullying is intended to make the individual feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation.
Many forms of behaviour can constitute bullying; this list is neither exclusive nor exhaustive and other forms of behaviour may be regarded as bullying:
- Offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour
- Open aggression
- Physical or psychological threats
- Shouting, intrusion by pestering and /or spying.
- Inappropriate and/or derogatory remarks about someone’s performance.
- Subjecting another person to unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating that person’s dignity or humiliating, intimidating or undermining that individual or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
What is Harassment ?
Harassment on grounds of gender (including gender re-assignment), race, religion or belief, political opinion, disability, sexual orientation is discrimination against an individual in the way they are treated in relation to the provision of services, including teaching and supervision, assessment, progression and award and support services. Although harassment normally implies that there have been several incidents of unwanted behaviour, students may also raise concerns relating to a single incident and should do so if the behaviour of the other person is serious. Harassment may constitute a criminal or civil offence and it may also be possible to obtain an injunction under the Protection from Harassment (NI) Order 1997.
Harassment can take many forms:
- Verbal harassment through derogatory remarks, jokes, insults, offensive language, gossip and slander.
- Written harassment includes, but is not limited to, letters, emails, postings on websites and texts.
- Visual displays of posters, graffiti, obscene gestures, flags, bunting, pictures, emblems or any other offensive material (including the use of email or mobile devices to send or view such material).
- Physical conduct ranging from the invasion of personal space and/or inappropriate touching to serious assaults.