Bullying and harassment

Bullying is behaviour which is intended to harm or threaten someone. It will often involve multiple incidents which have taken place over a period of time. Usually, but not always, the person doing the bullying would have some power or authority over the other person, but this is not always the case.  

Harassment is when someone (deliberately or not) behaves in a way which upsets, intimidates or humiliates someone else. Harassment is often characterised by repeated examples of unwanted behaviour or doing things which create an uncomfortable atmosphere for someone. 

Bullying and harassment can be physical, verbal, direct, indirect, online or in person, or through other channels. 

Some types of harmful behaviour which could be bullying or harassment include:  

• unkind, disrespectful, critical remarks  
• shouting at, being sarcastic, ridiculing or demeaning others  
• constantly picking, criticising or reviewing behaviour or work  
• excluding someone from group activities or communications    
• unwanted touching even just ‘minor’ contact 
• making someone the target of jokes or pranks  
• discriminatory or derogatory remarks about any protected characteristic someone has (or has a relationship to)
• threatening physical behaviour, violence or sexual assault

Keeping a record of your experience of harassment or bullying can be useful if you decide to report the situation. 

Useful notes to keep include:

• the date and time that encounters happened
• a description of what happened
• how the encounter affected you – emotionally, physically or both
• how your study, home or social life was affected by the encounter
• any witness who saw what happened
• screenshots or harmful messages sent via email, text or social media.

You can report and incident of bullying or harassment via our Report + Support website, which allows you to report an incident online to the University, and you can choose to report anonymously if you wish. Our Student Welfare team monitor incident reports and will be in contact within one working day to discuss the incident and offer you support.

If you choose to report an incident via Report + Support, you can choose two options:

• You have the option to report anonymously. If you do submit an anonymous report, we will not be able to contact you or take further action. However, it does mean that University has a record of the incident, and we can use anonymous reports to identify trends or patterns of incidents which we may be able to be address. 
• You can also choose to leave your contact details with your report and ask to speak with an adviser. If you choose this option, a member of our Student Welfare team will contact you and offer support. They can also refer you to specialist support services if you require further help.

Please note that speaking with an advisor does not mean that you are making a formal complaint to the University; the advisor will talk to you about how to make a complaint, and then you can decide what you’d like to do next.

University Support Services

• Student Welfare team will respond to your report and offer advice.
• Student Union Advice Centre also have trained advisors who can provide support.
• Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing Service are available if you need wellbeing support.

External sources of support

• National Bullying Helpline provide information and advice about all forms of bullying.
• Citizens advice can offer advice if you’re being harassed or bullied at work.