Equality and harassment contact persons | HYY
Equality and harassment contact persons
HYY actively works to ensure that there is no discrimination, harassment, racism or other inappropriate treatment in the Student Union. HYY must be a safe space for everyone.
Equality at HYY
Equality means that all human beings are equal regardless of any personal reasons or characteristics, which include gender, age, ethnic and national origin, nationality, language, religion and belief, opinion, disability, health and sexual orientation. Equality is one of the values of our Student Union.
Our key steering documents related to equality are the Equality Plan and the Policy Paper. The Equality Plan guides our internal operation in relation to organisations operating under us, for instance. The Policy Paper, on the other hand, describes our policies as relevant to the advocacy work we conduct towards the University and society.
We support the organisations operating under us and encourage them to take equality into account as well as create a safer atmosphere for all students. Organisations’ activities may not conflict with our Equality Plan. We organise training events annually on different aspects of equality and have also drafted equality instructions for organisations. Organisations can also borrow a portable induction loop.
Unfortunately, not all of HYY’s buildings are currently accessible. A lift will be built in the New Student House in the near future. Domus Gaudium in Kauppi is accessible and features organisational premises, meeting premises and attic sauna Sivistys. Further information on the accessibility of our premises is available here.
Principles of safer space
HYY’s principles of safer space apply to our activities and events. With our principles, we aim to create practices that help everyone promote a safer and more equal environment.
- Treat other people in a civil, respectful manner and appreciate their work contributions. Do not, for instance, make inappropriate or dismissive comments about other people or launch personal attacks on them.
- When giving feedback, focus on giving constructive feedback and be prepared to engage in a dialogue.
- We all have various assumptions and prejudices about other people. Try to identify the assumptions you make and to take the diversity of people into account. Respect the self-defined identities of other people and face them with an open mind, as you cannot know another person’s background, experiences or situation in life, nor can you define their identity for them.
- There is no room for violence, harassment, racism or discriminatory behaviour or language in HYY.
- Respect the bodily and mental integrity of other people as well as the boundaries they have set for themselves. No means no – do not harass anyone verbally, by touching them or by staring at them.
- In discussions, ensure that everyone gets heard and is able to participate. In a good discussion, everyone gets the chance to speak, gets heard and can choose to only listen if they prefer. Do not speak over other people and try to use the kind of language that is understandable to everyone.
- Deal with delicate subjects respectfully and use content warnings if needed. Content warnings refer to a note stating that the subject under discussion includes material that may shock or offend some people.
- Recognise your own privileges. Privileges refer to advantages that individuals have by virtue of belonging to certain social groups. Privileges may be related to characteristics including gender, sexual orientation, skin colour, class, language, health status and religion.
- If you violate the principles of safer space or if someone points out that you have done so, apologise. Everyone makes mistakes. Be understanding towards mistakes made by others, too, and try to resolve the matter between the involved parties, if possible.
- Take action against any discrimination you witness or offer your support to the people who encounter discrimination. In problem situations, you can also contact the persons in charge of event safety and/or HYY’s harassment contact persons.
Help and support for harassment situations
The Student Union has two harassment contact persons who support students who have encountered harassment, bullying, discrimination or any other kind of inappropriate treatment. Any contacts with the harassment contact persons are entirely confidential. If you prefer, the matter will remain between you and the harassment contact persons.
Harassment contact persons do not act as judges in any situation nor do they hand out punishments but rather offer advice on how to address the situation and support you in the process. The harassment contact persons can also direct you to other services if needed.
Harassment contact persons also offer advice to organisations which operate under HYY. If the organisation does not have harassment contact persons of their own, they can inform their members about HYY’s harassment contact persons. It is also a good idea to always deal with more difficult cases together with them.
You can reach both harassment contact persons by email at hairintayhdyshenkilo@hyy.fi
Tiia Niemi, tiia.niemi@hyy.fi, 050 543 9608
Janne Kajander, janne.kajander@hyy.fi, 050 543 9609
If the person harassing you is a staff member at the University, you can also contact the University’s harassment contact persons:
Timo Valtonen, timo.valtonen@helsinki.fi
Terhi Somerkallio, terhi.somerkallio@helsinki.fi
How to act in harassment situations?
- Tell the person harassing you that their behaviour is inappropriate. Tell them that you do not approve of their behaviour and ask them to stop.
- If the harassment continues, write down what happened and when, who were present and what was said. This makes processing the matter later easier.
- Tell someone about the inappropriate behaviour:
- If harassment occurs in connection with teaching by another student, contact the teacher responsible for the course or another member of staff.
- If the harasser is a member of staff, contact the University’s harassment contact persons.
- If harassment occurs in events, in organisational activities or on social media, contact – depending on the situation – the board of the organisation or HYY’s harassment contact persons.
- If you need discussion help, you can also contact the FSHS or other organisations which offer help. You can seek help from the party you feel is the most natural for yourself.
Equality at the University
The key equality actor at the University of Helsinki is the Equality and Diversity Committee. The composition of the committee includes the vice rector in charge of equality, the University’s equality advisor and two student representatives. The committee is in charge of promoting equality at the University through the University’s Equality and Diversity Plan, for instance. Do not hesitate to contact members of the committee if you want to influence the realisation of equality at the University!
The accessibility of studies is supported by individual arrangements – practical arrangements used to facilitate smooth study progress. You may require such arrangements due to dyslexia or a sensory disability, for instance. The realisation of the arrangements is determined based on your situation and needs. The arrangements may entail, for instance, receiving lecture material in advance, additional time for returning an assignment or an alternative completion method.
There are both equality and accessibility liaisons operating at the University. You can contact them on a low threshold on any matters related to equality or accessibility, and their contact details can be found here.
More information
equality.fi
Ombudsman for gender equality
Non-discrimination ombudsman