Policy of counteracting mobbing, discrimination and violence

Plenipotentiary’s duties include:

– receiving complaints from students and postgraduate students who, in their opinion, have become victims of discrimination or violence on the part of the student/students, postgraduate student/students, or an employee/employees of the University,

– examining complaints in formal terms and then forwarding them to the Rector who convenes the committee or initiates explanatory proceedings by the Disciplinary Ombudsman for Students of UITM,

– monitoring the phenomena of discrimination and violence against students and postgraduate students at the University and submitting reports in this regard along with recommendations to the Rector,

– conducting educational activities for students and postgraduate students in the field of counteracting discrimination and violence.

Definitions of discrimination, mobbing, violence

Discrimination means the exclusion or worst treatment of someone based on their gender, age, national origin, nationality, religion, belief, skin color, or sexual orientation.

Mobbing means actions or behaviors related to an employee or directed against an employee, consisting of persistent and prolonged harassment or intimidation of an employee, causing him to underestimate his professional suitability, or aimed at humiliating or ridiculing the employee, isolating him or eliminating him from the team of colleagues.

Violence is the intentional act or omission of one person to act against another, which by using the advantage of force violates the rights and personal rights of an individual, causing suffering and harm.

We speak of violence when 4 conditions are met:

• intentional – violence is a deliberate human action and is aimed at controlling and subordinating the victim.
• power imbalance – in a relationship one person has a distinct advantage over the other. She is stronger physically, mentally, materially, professionally, and socially and uses this advantage to force someone to submit to her wishes.
• violation of personal rights and rights – the perpetrator uses his advantage and violates the basic rights of the victim (e.g. the right to physical inviolability, dignity, respect, etc.) – he gives himself the right to offend, hit, criticize, take something or not give it. He does not take into account her needs, protests, and feelings.
• causing suffering and pain – the perpetrator exposes the victim’s health to serious damage and sometimes threatens her life. Experiencing pain and suffering makes the victims less able to defend themselves. The damage can be measurable or not, visible or invisible, immediate or delayed.

What is direct discrimination?
Direct discrimination is a situation in which a natural person is treated less favorably than another person in a comparable situation because of their sex, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, religious belief, disability, age, or sexual orientation.

What is indirect discrimination?
Indirect discrimination occurs when an neutral provision/decision/criterion violates the rights of a person or group, e.g. due to sex, religion, disability, etc. to the legitimate aim to be achieved and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.

What behaviors are not discriminatory?
These are behaviors in which students feel disadvantaged, in particular by a university employee (e.g. in the context of passing credits, setting deadlines, applicable material), but this behavior is not caused, inter alia, by their gender, race, or nationality. Such situations do not constitute discrimination.

What is the Anti-Discrimination and Violence Policy for students and postgraduate students?
Acts of discrimination and violence against students and postgraduate students constitute a violation of generally applicable laws and internal regulations in force at the University.

You can read the description of the procedure here.

What is student violence?
Violence includes acts of physical, verbal, psychological, and sexual aggression, as well as cyberbullying (online violence), harassment, blackmail, and other forms of violence.

How should a student report violence or discrimination?
A student who believes that he has been a victim of discrimination or violence by another student or University employee may submit a complaint to the representative in writing or electronically. The Rector’s representative for counteracting mobbing, discrimination, and violence at UITM is Katarzyna Kurzępa Dedo, Ph.D.

What should the complaint contain?
The complaint should include:

• the date;
• description of the facts of the case;
• indication of exactly which actions or behaviors of another student or university employee are (in the opinion of the student submitting the complaint) a manifestation of discrimination or violence;
• indication of the name and surname of the person or persons who, in the student’s opinion, are the perpetrators of discrimination or violence;
• justification and indication of evidence that the discrimination or violence has occurred or is still taking place;
• signature of the student submitting the complaint.

The plenipotentiary examines the complaint in formal terms and then forwards it to the Rector who convenes the committee. The burden of proving that the accusations are false rests with the person identified as the perpetrator of discrimination or violence.

Contact to the plenipotentiary: pelnomocnikmdp@wsiz.edu.pl

An employee may be discriminated against in terms of:

• establishing and terminating an employment relationship,
• employment conditions,
• promotion,
• access to training to improve to improveprofessional qualifications, for all or a significant number of employees, unless the provision, criterion, or action is objectively justified due to the lawful purpose to be achieved and the means to achieve this purpose are appropriate and necessary.

How should an employee report mobbing, violence, or discrimination?
An employee who believes that he has been a victim of mobbing, discrimination, or violence by another student or University employee may submit a complaint to the representative in writing or electronically. The Rector’s representative for counteracting mobbing, discrimination, and violence at UITM is Katarzyna Kurzępa Dedo, Ph.D.

What should the complaint contain?
The complaint should include:

• the date;
• description of the facts of the case;
• indication of exactly which actions or behaviors of another student or university employee are (in the opinion of the employee submitting the complaint) a manifestation of discrimination or violence;
• indication of the name and surname of the person or persons who, in the employee’s opinion, are the perpetrators of discrimination or violence;
• justification and indication of evidence that the discrimination or violence has occurred or is still taking place;
• signature of the employee submitting the complaint.

The plenipotentiary examines the complaint in formal terms and then forwards it to the Rector who convenes the committee. The burden of proving that the accusations are false rests with the person identified as the perpetrator of discrimination or violence.

Contact to the plenipotentiary: pelnomocnikmdp@wsiz.edu.pl