Harassment contact persons

You can contact any harassment contact person.

Zero tolerance of harassment

All students have the right to a free, safe and equal studying environment and student life. We must secure accessible learning: that everyone in our community can live and study without any fear of discrimination or harassment.

Harassment includes discrimination, bullying, abuse, unpleasant comments or messages, blackmail or anything the victim of harassment finds insulting or displeasing. Harassment may be committed by another student or a staff member.

At student union Kaakko, we want to interfere and prevent harassment in our university community. Kaakko’s harassment contact persons operate in all Xamk campuses. They listen without judgement, and, when asked to do so, intervene in harassment cases brought forward. They take no further actions without your consent. All information shared with Kaakko’s harassment contacts will be regarded as strictly confidential.

At Xamk, we follow the common equality and non-discrimination plan for students and staff.

Xamk has also created its own safer space principles.

Falcony: Harassment

Xamk has also introduced a new incident reporting tool, Falcony. Falcony aims to make reporting anomalous events and different ideas easier in Xamk. 

The tool is available for both students and staff. When, for example, various development ideas, harassment, or data protection breaches are reported through Falcony, the observation data is transferred by location and category to the people in each area of responsibility. 

Harassment 

In Falcony, the findings of harassment are divided into three parts: sexual harassment, bullying, and other inappropriate behavior. 

Sexual harassment 

Sexual harassment and harassment based on gender discrimination are intended by the Equality Act. Harassment can occur regardless of the environment, for example on social media. Hate speech can also be harassment, or even a crime. 

Sexual harassment has been a crime in Finland since 2014. Under the Penal Code, sexual harassment is a physical act that violates sexual sovereignty. 

Examples of sexual harassment include ambiguous jokes and nagging speeches, inappropriate remarks about the body or sexuality, physical rapprochement, and suggesting sex in other inappropriate contexts. 

Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of situations, such as leisure, hobbies, school, internships, the workplace, at home, in public places, or in transportation. Sexual harassment can be perpetrated by a person, familiar or unknown, regardless of gender. 

You can make an observation about sexual harassment in Falcony Incident Reporting System here. 

Bullying 

Bullying is a form of violence in which a bully targets another person with verbal, gestural, mental or physical harm. It can be momentary or long-lasting, but most often a planned and deliberate act by which the bully seeks to cause resentment, or extreme mental or physical harm to another person. 

Bullying includes naming, mocking, public embarrassment, spreading untrue gossip, leaving the gang out or forcing. All cases of bullying should be reported in advance. 

You can leave a report of bullying in Falcony here. 

Other inappropriate behavior 

Inappropriate behavior includes, for example, the constant unjustified criticism of a person’s study or work performance and the blackmailing, improper appointment or isolation of a person from the work community. Unjustified failure to assess study assignments can also be inappropriate treatment. 

You can leave an observation about other inappropriate behavior in Falcony here.