Social Safety of Students


Let's support each other

If you observe something unusual or suspicious about someone, or if they just seem uncomfortable, talk to them if they are close to you, or tell any lecturers you trust, or you can also call the Psychological First Aid Line: 116 123, which is non-stop and free of charge, where a professional can listen to your concerns anonymously and talk to you about them, or you can seek help from a school psychologist or any other professional or the Psychological Support at the LLI BUT.

Especially if you do not know the person or find their behaviour really unusual, you should contact any member of staff at the school.
Don't blame yourself or those around you for your mental health problems and don't let them blind you to them.
It will lead to nothing and believe that there are professionals in our society who are ready to give you a helping hand in your difficult moments and that someone will always be there to support you.

You have the right to respect

None of the forms of undesirable behaviour - e.g. discrimination, sexual harassment, unlawful coercion, bullying - is tolerated at the BUT, both between lecturers, other employees and student

If I don't know what to do, I can turn to...

Social Safety Coordinator at BUT

Data Protection Officer

Cooperation with the Social Safety Coordinator at the BUT in dealing with suggestions/notifications about the occurrence of undesirable phenomena at the university.
  • Mgr. Lucie Schimmleová (Rectorate)

Contact persons for social safety at F/UI/U

Authorized to receive suggestions / notifications about the occurrence of undesirable phenomena at the university and to further address them in cooperation with the Social Safety Coordinator at the VUT.

Student Chamber of Academic Senate of BUT

Authorized to receive suggestions/reports on the occurrence of undesirable phenomena at the University and to refer them to the Coordinator for Social Safety at the BUT.

Ethics Committee BUT

In the case of a really serious violation of the BUT Code of Conduct, it is possible to apply directly to the BUT Ethics Committee, whose members include:

Complaints submitted to the Ethics Committee will be dealt with at its next meeting in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Ethics Committee.

BUT Counselling Centres

The employees of these offices mainly provide psychological or other counselling and can act as contact persons in circumstances arising from the negotiations. They do not have the authority to deal with complaints but, with your consent, will pass them on to the BUT Social Safety Coordinator.

BUT Counselling Centre (LLI) - Psychological counselling

The Counselling Centre provides psychological counselling - professional psychological help for students who find themselves in difficult situations.
To arrange a consultation, please use our form below, or call us on our number (+420) 771 279 841.
The phone line is manned as much as possible on weekdays between 8am and 4pm.

ALFONS Counselling centre

The Alfons Counselling Centre offers students advice and help with successfully completing their studies and Socio-legal counselling S-compass.
It offers:

  • counselling for students with disabilities/limitations
  • specific learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dysortography, attention deficit disorder)
  • medical disabilities (hearing, visual, mobility, autism spectrum disorder)
  • psychological difficulties (depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, etc.)
  • other health difficulties (chromic somatic disease, etc.)

External Support

HELP LINE Phone: 116 111 non- stop
Mail: pomoc@linkabezpeci.cz

Others:

  • Persefona – addresses the issue of domestic and sexual violence, including assistance to its victims
  • Bílý kruh bezpečí (White Circle of Safety) – helps victims of crime, including sexual violence
  • proFem – helps victims of sexual violence, organizes educational events on the topic
  • Rosa center – helps women - victims of domestic violence (In Czech only)
  • Konsent – deals with sexual violence and its prevention (In Czech only)

It is not tolerated in academia...

Discrimination

Discrimination is defined as 'any act, including omissions, whereby a person is treated less favourably than another person in a comparable situation is or has been treated or would be treated, on grounds of race, ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, belief or world view, and, in legal relations in which a directly applicable European Union regulation on the free movement of workers applies, on grounds of nationality. " - Law No.198 /2009 Coll., on Equal Treatment and Legal Means of Protection against Discrimination and on Amendments to Certain Acts (Anti-Discrimination Act).

Discrimination is divided into:
  • Direct discrimination - an act in which one person is treated less favourably than another person in a comparable situation for reasons prohibited by law (it is individual in nature),
  • Indirect discrimination - conduct in which someone is treated less favourably on the basis of a criterion that is apparently neutral. In certain cases, indirect discrimination can be justified by a reasonable aim, but the means of achieving it must also be proportionate and necessary. Indirect discrimination can take two forms:
    • an overly broad general standard which, formally speaking, affects all subjects equally, but in reality does not,
    • an exception to the general norm which has a disproportionate impact on a particular social group.
Examples of discrimination:
  • ridiculing, parodying or humiliating because of age, race or other personal characteristics,
  • sending or displaying material that others may find offensive (emails, text messages, videos, pictures),
  • verbal or physical conduct that diminishes dignity, is hostile to someone, or expresses dislike based on personal characteristics,
  • shunning someone, e.g. deliberately excluding them from a conversation or work activity based on personal characteristics,
  • insulting or intimidating remarks, gestures, insensitive jokes and "practical jokes" that undermine someone's dignity, gossip,
  • unwanted, unsolicited and inappropriate physical contact (petting, slapping, brushing against someone, etc.), unsolicited and inappropriate staring (e.g. at cleavage).

Bullying

Bullying is any behaviour that is intended to hurt, threaten, humiliate or intimidate another person or group of people. Bullying is a serious aggressive behavioural disorder occurring in social settings and is not age-restricted.

Bullying is characterised by:
  • Intentionality; regular repetition; disproportionate force; self-directed aggression; the victim experiences the so-called "fun" unpleasantly.
Examples of bullying:
  • physical manifestations - e.g. kicking, slapping, choking,
  • physically preventing the victim from achieving goals - e.g. deliberately blocking the way, taking up space,
  • verbal expressions - e.g. name-calling, insulting, ridiculing, spreading rumours, offensive drawings, poems,
  • passive speech - e.g. not answering greetings, questions, not standing up for the victim in case of unfair accusation.

Bullying at work

Bossing

Bullying by a superior (bossing) can be considered:

  • excessive checking of performance or attendance, failure to approve leave, excessive overtime,
  • arrogant behaviour, verbal abuse,
  • failure to appreciate work or frequent and unjustified criticism, discussing small mistakes that are overlooked by others
  • ridicule in front of colleagues,
  • assigning tasks that are too complex (for which the subordinate is not qualified or is impossible to perform),
  • preventing access to information, e.g. from supervisors, which leads to uninformation,
  • inability to express their opinion or make suggestions,
  • appropriation of the subordinate's work by his/her supervisor,
  • sexual harassment,
  • unjustified threats of dismissal (termination of service), various insults (removal of office supplies...)

Mobbing

Bullying by colleagues (mobbing) is characterised by its secrecy, subtlety and insidiousness. Only behaviour that occurs at least once a week for at least 6 months can be considered mobbing. Sometimes sexual harassment in the workplace is also classified as mobbing. The aim of mobbing is to harm the other person in order to get them fired from their job.

Mobbing is not an occasional conflict, but a repeated and deliberate process of destroying the intended victim. Mobbing looks like harmless taunts, pranks, practical jokes - but only the victim knows that they are not isolated or random, but instead a regular part of the working day. If a colleague does not say hello to you on a daily basis, for example, does not return your greetings, only gives you disdainful glances, and regularly slanders, criticises and denigrates you to your superiors, this is mobbing.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is any form of unsolicited verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity, especially when it creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Sexual harassment can include sexual coercion, unwanted sexual attention and sexist behaviour (application of gender stereotypes). In academia, it can occur between learners, between lecturers, by lecturers against learners, or by learners against lecturers. Every member of the campus community contributes to creating a safe, respectful, and dignified environment free from acts of sexual harassment.

Forms of sexual harassment in the university environment

  • unsolicited repeated sexual advances,
  • coercing sexual behaviour in return (e.g. better exam conditions),
  • inappropriate comments towards an individual or group on the basis of sex, gender or sexuality,
  • unsolicited emails, photographs or messages of a sexual nature,
  • inappropriate sex jokes and obscene gestures, unsolicited touching,
  • rape or attempted rape.

Common effects of sexual harassment on its victims

  • fear, anxiety, shame, anger,
  • reduced productivity, avoiding teachers, dropping out of school,
  • poorer attendance, poorer performance,
  • reduced self-esteem,
  • transfer of experience to later life.

Stalking

Stalking is a type of inappropriate behaviour that is manifested by the perpetrator focusing on a person (the victim) who is not interested in his/her interest and constantly and for a long time harasses and annoys him/her (with unsolicited text messages, e-mails, Skype, various types of chat, phone calls, unwanted attention), violates his/her personal freedom, threatens him/her and thus causes feelings of fear.

Stalking is a crime

Stalking has been a crime in the Czech Republic since 2010 and is qualified under Section 354 as dangerous persecution. If the victim is in danger, he or she can also apply for short-term police protection.

Manifestations of stalking

  • demonstration of power and force (direct or indirect threats), physically following the victim on the way to work, shopping, car chasing, waiting for the victim in front of the house,
  • the stalker may also threaten to physically attack the victim or the victim's loved ones,
  • making threats if the stalker's previous attempts fail,
  • the stalker impersonates the victim, identifies himself as the victim and pretends that the victim is taking revenge on him, he may also file a criminal complaint against the victim,
  • attempts to damage the victim's reputation by spreading false information in the vicinity. It may not be easy to recognise a stalker and often it is not even possible to do so; he may appear to be a perfectly normal person socially, about whom even his closest surroundings may not know that he is, for example, harassing another person.

A stalker can be:

  • a person the victim knows personally and knows is stalking them,
  • a person who knows the victim personally but does not know that he is stalking him,
  • a person who does not know the victim personally (e.g. cyberstalkers looking for their victims on the internet).

Responsibility: Ing. Bohdana Šlégrová