The Allgemeine Gleichbehandlungsgesetz - AGG (General Act on Equal Treatment) and the Gleichstellungsgesetz - GlG M-V (Gender Equality Act) protect employees at the University of Greifswald from sexual harassment at the workplace. As an employer, the University is obliged to ensure a safe work environment, free from harassment.

The University of Greifswald’s Anti-Discrimination Guidelines were enacted to specify the fundamental principles of the AGG and GlG. It obliges the University to take preventive measures, to investigate cases of sexual discrimination, harassment and violence and to take countermeasures. A special feature of these guidelines is that they apply to and comprehensively protect allmembers of the university community, including students, visitors and guests. They therefore apply even if no employment contract exists.

Sexual discrimination, harassment and violence refer to any non-desired sexual behaviour that violates the dignity of the person concerned and creates a climate of intimidation, humiliation and insult due to sexual conduct. (§ 1 of the Guidelines)

Examples according to § 2 (2) of the Guidelines:

• Sexual and derogatory use of language,
• Humiliating comments or jokes about people, their body, their behaviour or their sex life,
• Unsolicited gestures and behaviour with a sexual connotation,
• Verbal, pictorial or electronic presentation of pornographic or sexual images with humiliating intent on the part of the presenter,
• Unsolicited physical contact,
• Unsolicited request or coercion of sexual behaviour,
• Trailing someone or coercing them with sexual intent,
• Rape.

Sexual discrimination, harassment and violence that exploit dependent at the workplace or in studies and teaching are classified as particularly severe. This applies in particular to threats of personal study-related or professional disadvantages or the promise of advantages.

Firstly, it is important that you write downwhat you can remember in a kind of memory log to document your experiences. This may be of use to you later on when you try to reconstruct the exact course of events, reproduce the course of a conversation, and take the next stepts in the procedure. It is sensible to note down when and where the incident took place, who was involved, and what happened. Useful forms for documentation are the memory log [de] and the form for recording acts of bullying [de] from the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.

The Gender Equality Officer is ready to advise you in cases of sexual discrimination and harassment at the university. She will also inform you about any deadlines that must be met for possible procedures.

If you would like to file a complaint, please use this template [de] from the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.

Guidelines from the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency

What to do in a case of sexual harassment at the workplace? [de]

Sexual harassment in university contexts [de]