Protection against sexualised harassment, discrimination and violence

Sexual harassment is sexualised behaviour that is not desired by the person concerned and is intended to reduce them to their 'sexuality', intimidate, degrade or insult them. It's expressed, for example, in sexual behaviour, requests for sexual behaviour, intrusive looks or touching. This also includes certain remarks, e.g. relating to the body, about appearance or sexual innuendo, gestures, jokes and the showing of pornographic images. This can also include criminal offences such as stalking, sexual assault and rape. As sexual harassment is always behaviour that is not consensual and unwanted, it is fundamentally different from mutually desirable behaviour.

Universities are no exception, especially as existing relationships of dependency can be exploited, for example if the person concerned directly addresses boundary violations or resists sexual advances. Sometimes rewards are offered for sexual behaviour or people are threatened with negative consequences in the event of resistance, for example in relation to examinations, grading, job appointments and promotions. Sexual harassment means degrading the safety and dignity of people. It can result in performance failure, anxiety and depression, among other things.

It is often difficult for those affected by sexualised boundary violations to classify whether what they have experienced is sexualised violence or whether this perception is exaggerated.

If you are affected, trust your feelings: if you find a situation unpleasant, take your perception seriously. You have the right to clearly signal that this behaviour is undesirable. Even if you were unable to defend yourself in the situation or cannot discuss what you experienced, the harasser is solely responsible for the violation of boundaries.

The person affected is never to blame for sexual harassment. Nevertheless, feelings of shame and embarrassment can arise, which are understandable due to the experience. However, it is important to realise that only the person who is harassing should feel guilt and shame for their actions.

We encourage all affected persons to turn to trusted people and make use of our counselling services, even if an incident took place some time ago. Counselling is also possible anonymously and will always be treated confidentially. Measures are only taken with the consent of the person concerned.

If you are affected: Document sexual harassment in writing in a memory log. Remember that you are not an isolated case and that you do not have to tolerate this behaviour. The university is obliged to take appropriate measures to ensure that no-one is exposed to sexual harassment in its area of application.

If you have been raped, you should have yourself medically examined in order to preserve the evidence of the offence. Even without filing a police report, you can receive immediate medical assistance from a doctor and confidential forensics at four clinics in Brandenburg, including the Klinikum Frankfurt (Oder). If you later decide to press charges, you can use the evidence.