The University has an obligation to investigate
If the University finds out that a student has been subjected to harassment, sexual harassment or victimisation, we have an obligation to investigate the circumstances. This also applies if something has happened during clinical training or a placement.
Bear in mind that the longer it takes before the University finds out what has happened, the more difficult it will be to do something about the situation. As soon as you feel ready, you should therefore report what has happened to the University.
What happens when you submit a report
When you submit a report about discrimination or victimisation, the University will begin an investigation. Here is an overview of what happens during the process.
Reporting
You can submit a report in three different ways:
- To your teacher or someone else who is responsible for your programme or course.
- To the head of the department where you are studying.
- By sending a report to the registrar: registrator@umu.se.
When the registrar receives a report, an initial assessment is carried out to determine which function within the University should investigate the matter.
Investigation
In order for your report to be investigated in relation to the person who subjected you to unwanted behaviour, you must back your report. This means that you cannot submit a report anonymously in such a case. See further down on this page for more information about what happens if you submit an anonymous report.
As a first step, you will be contacted by the person responsible for the investigation. This could be either the head of your department or someone from the support team for a safe work and study environment. The reason for making contact is to allow you to give a brief description of what happened. If it is deemed that what you have experienced could constitute victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment, an investigation will begin. This includes the following:
- Give your description
If you feel you have been subjected to discrimination, harassment or victimisation, you will be asked to describe what has happened in more detail. You can also provide more information about your experience by showing documentation in the form of emails, text messages or images. If other people witnessed what happened, you can also provide their contact details to the person responsible for the investigation. - Description from the person who has been reported
Based on the information you have shared, the object of the complaint is given the opportunity to describe their view of what happened to the investigator. - Both parties will be involved during the course of the investigation
Throughout the investigation, both you and the person who has been reported will have access to materials and information provided to the investigation. You will both have the opportunity to give your views on the other party’s account. - Assessment
Once all the parties involved have given their accounts of what happened, the investigator will assess whether or not what happened can be deemed to be victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment.
Possible actions and consequences
If it is assessed that what happened does not constitute harassment, sexual harassment or victimisation in accordance with the law, the University may still take preventive measures to prevent students from being affected by similar incidents in the future. The appropriate action will depend on what the investigation shows.
However, if the investigation shows that victimisation, harassment, sexual harassment or some other form of misconduct has taken place, the University must act quickly to stop this behaviour. For example, one possible measure may be to have a clarifying conversation with the individual who has subjected someone to victimisation.
If the victimisation or harassment has been serious, or continues despite measures being taken, the matter may be taken further. If the victimisation or harassment has been carried out by an employee, the matter will be referred to the Staff Disciplinary Board. If it is a student, the Disciplinary Board will deal with the matter. Both bodies have the authority to decide on individual sanctions.
Whatever the outcome of the investigation, the University’s staff must not subject students to punishment or any other negative treatment as a result of their observations or involvement in an investigation into harassment or sexual harassment.
How sensitive information is handled in the investigation
Documentation included in the investigation will be handled by as small a group as possible. Those who can access the documentation are:
- the investigator
- the victim
- the person against whom the complaint was submitted, and
- any university staff who need the information to be able to perform their work. For example, this could include the reported individual’s manager responsible for the study environment.
It is important that you are aware, however, that documentation included in an investigation, such as written communication, decisions and action plans, are public documents. This means that the documents can be requested from Umeå University, in accordance with the principle of public access to official documents.
If someone requests a document from the University, a confidentiality assessment is conducted before the document is released. However, there are only a few types of information that the University can claim confidentiality in an investigation of victimisation, harassment or sexual harassment.
What happens if you submit a report anonymously
If you do not wish to back your report or wish to submit a report anonymously, the University must still take action and investigate the situation as far as possible. In such cases, it will not be possible to carry out any actions directed towards an individual, as the person who has been criticised will be unable to respond to your statements.
Even if you do not wish to back your report, it is still important that the University knows about your experience in order to carry out the actions that are possible depending on the specific situation. The person who is responsible for the study environment can take more general actions, such as:
- carrying out surveys to investigate the study environment; or
- carrying out training initiatives to prevent risks within the study environment.
Help and support
When someone has behaved in an unwanted way towards you, this can be both confusing and difficult to deal with. However, support is available.
Getting help from your student union
Umeå University has three student unions which work to ensure that students have an influence over their study situation. They can offer support and advice if you are unsure about how to deal with something that has happened.
Student unions are here for you
If you need counselling
If you need someone to talk to, you can contact the Student Health Service. You can also contact the University Chaplaincy, which offers counselling to everyone at Umeå University, regardless of their philosophy or religious affiliation.
Contact the Student Health Service
Contact the University Chaplaincy
Suspected crimes should be reported to the police
If you have been the victim of a crime, you should report it to the police. This applies regardless of whether the person who carried out the action is a student, an employee or an external party.
Information about what to do and what happens if you report a crime to the police is available from the police and the Swedish Crime Victim Authority.
Report a crime (the Swedish Police Service)
Crime Victim Guide (the Swedish Crime Victim Authority) (in Swedish)
