How to report harassment, bullying, discrimination, assault and hate crime

Someone you know could be harassing you, like a neighbour, or people from your local area, another student or it could be a stranger. 

Harassment may include:

• Bullying at University or in the workplace
• Cyber stalking (using the internet to harass someone)
• Antisocial behaviour
• Sending abusive text messages
• Sending unwanted gifts
• Unwanted phone calls, letters, emails or visits
• It’s harassment if the unwanted behaviour has happened more than once and when someone’s actions make another person feel like their dignity is being disrespected or they are in an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive situation. There also needs to be consideration of whether it’s reasonable that the person behaving in this way ought to know that their behaviour is unacceptable and deemed as harassment.

• Should you decide to report the incident to the police, the call handler, who is not a police officer, will ask you basic questions to identify that you are currently safe and not in any danger. They will want to know your name, phone number and your location.
• The police will want to look at any evidence that may be available in order to make a decision on what they can do next.
• Don’t delete any electronic communications from your phone or emails.
• Remember, nobody is there to judge you. The first concern of the police is that you are safe.
• If you are worried and want to discuss this with someone at the University now, you can contact firstpoint Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm on 01905 542551, e-mail them on firstpoint@worc.ac.uk, or pop in to the Peirson Building on St. Johns Campus. Outside of these hours you can call Security on 01905 855000 or e-mail them on Security@worc.ac.uk
• However, by reporting this incident via the portal and leaving your details, you will be contacted by an adviser from Student Services, and there is no need to contact firstpoint.
• If you are unsure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our University Police Community Support Officers
• Harassment can also lead to Stalking, if you are concerned about Stalking please click here.

Further Information

West Mercia Police Support

• West Mercia Police – How to report stalking and harassment

Other organisations support

• Revenge porn helpline
  
• Stop hate crime – bullying and harassment
  
• Victim support – Supportline

An assault involves an intentional or reckless action that creates a sense of immediate threat by which a person intentionally or recklessly causes another to suffer or apprehend immediate unlawful violence. The term assault is often used to include a battery, which is committed by the intentional or reckless application of unlawful force to another person.

This can include verbal, online or messaged threats to harm or threats to kill

• Should you decide to report the incident to the police, the call handler, who is not a police officer, will ask you basic questions to identify that you are currently safe and not in any danger. They will want to know your name, phone number and your location
• The police will want to look at any evidence that may be available in order to make a decision on what they can do next.
• Don’t delete any electronic communications from your phone or emails.
• Remember, nobody is there to judge you. The first concern of the police is that you are safe.
• If you are worried and want to discuss this with someone at the University now, you can contact firstpoint Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm on 01905 542551, e-mail them on firstpoint@worc.ac.uk, or pop in to the Peirson Building on St. Johns Campus. Outside of these hours you can call Security on 01905 855000 or e-mail them on Security@worc.ac.uk
• However, by reporting this incident via the portal and leaving your details, you will be contacted by an adviser from Student Services, and there is no need to contact firstpoint.
• If you are unsure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our University Police Community Support Officers

There is no legal definition of bullying.

However, it’s usually defined as behaviour that is:

• Repeated
• Intended to hurt someone either physically or emotionally
• Often aimed at certain groups, for example because of race, religion, gender or sexual orientation

It takes many forms and can include:

• Physical assault – (please see the assault box above for more details)
• Teasing
• Making threats – (please see the assault box above for more details)
• Name calling
• Cyberbullying – bullying via mobile phone or online (for example email, social networks and instant messenger) – (please see the online abuse box below for more details)
• Bullying can lead to incitement to hatred
• The offence of incitement to hatred occurs when someone acts in a way that is threatening and intended to stir up hatred. That could be in words, pictures, videos, music, and includes information posted on websites.
• Hate content may include:
• Messages calling for violence against a specific person or group
• Web pages that show pictures, videos or descriptions of violence against anyone due to their perceived differences
• Chat forums where people ask other people to commit hate crimes against a specific person or group
• This doesn’t have to be directed at you for you to report it to the police.

• Should you decide to report the incident to the police, the call handler, who is not a police officer, will ask you basic questions to identify that you are currently safe and not in any danger. They will want to know your name, phone number and your location
• The police will want to look at any evidence that may be available in order to make a decision on what they can do next.
• Don’t delete any electronic communications from your phone or emails.
• Remember, nobody is there to judge you. The first concern of the police is that you are safe.
• If you are worried and want to discuss this with someone at the University now, you can contact firstpoint Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm on 01905 542551, e-mail them on firstpoint@worc.ac.uk, or pop in to the Peirson Building on St. Johns Campus. Outside of these hours you can call Security on 01905 855000 or e-mail them on Security@worc.ac.uk
• However, by reporting this incident via the portal and leaving your details, you will be contacted by an adviser from Student Services, and there is no need to contact firstpoint.
• If you are unsure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our University Police Community Support Officers.

Further Information:

National bullying helpline

Young Minds – coping with life

Give us a Shout – get help with bullying

Discrimination can come in one of the following forms:

• Direct discrimination – treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than others
• Indirect discrimination – putting rules or arrangements in place that apply to everyone, but that put someone with a protected characteristic at an unfair disadvantage
• Harassment – unwanted behaviour linked to a protected characteristic that violates someone’s dignity or creates an offensive environment for them (please see Harassment box above)
• Victimisation – treating someone unfairly because they’ve complained about discrimination or harassment (please see bullying box above)

It is against the law to discriminate against anyone because of:

• Age
• Gender reassignment
• Being married or in a civil partnership
• Being pregnant or on maternity leave
• Disability
• Race including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin
• Religion or belief
• Sex
• Sexual orientation
  
• If you are worried and want to discuss this with someone at the University now, you can contact firstpoint Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm on 01905 542551, e-mail them on firstpoint@worc.ac.uk, or pop in to the Peirson Building on St. Johns Campus. Outside of these hours you can call Security on 01905 855000 or e-mail them on Security@worc.ac.uk
• However, by reporting this incident via the portal and leaving your details, you will be contacted by an adviser from Student Services, and there is no need to contact firstpoint.

Further Information

Galop – Support for LGBTQ+ people who have experienced abuse and violence

GOV.UK – pregnant employees’ rights

GOV.UK- definition of disability

Online stalking or harassment is when someone monitors, stalks, harasses, threatens, controls or impersonates another person using the internet or other technology.

Online stalking or harassment may include:

• Monitoring someone’s internet use, email or other electronic communication
• Cyber flashing
• Getting access to someone’s email and social media accounts  
• Spamming and sending viruses 
• Stealing someone’s identity
• Threatening to share private information, photographs, copies of messages
• Adding tracking software to someone’s devices
• It’s online stalking or harassment if the unwanted behaviour has happened two times or more and made you feel scared, distressed or threatened. If this is the case you can report this to the police.

• Should you decide to report the incident to the police, the call handler, who is not a police officer, will ask you basic questions to identify that you are currently safe and not in any danger. They will want to know your name, phone number and your location
• The police will want to look at any evidence that may be available in order to make a decision on what they can do next.
• Don’t delete any electronic communications from your phone or emails.
• Remember, nobody is there to judge you. The first concern of the police is that you are safe.
• Should you not be sure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our Police Community Support Officer
• You do not have to wait for this to be repeated to report it to the University however.
• If you are worried and want to discuss this with someone at the University now, you can contact firstpoint Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm on 01905 542551, e-mail them on firstpoint@worc.ac.uk, or pop in to the Peirson Building on St. Johns Campus. Outside of these hours you can call Security on 01905 855000 or e-mail them on Security@worc.ac.uk
• However, by reporting this incident via the portal and leaving your details, you will be contacted by an adviser from Student Services, and there is no need to contact firstpoint.
• If you are unsure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our University Police Community Support Officers.

• In most crimes it is something the victim has in their possession or control that motivates the offender to commit the crime. With hate crime it is ‘who’ the victim is, or ‘what’ the victim appears to be that motivates the offender to commit the crime.
• A hate crime is defined as ‘Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.’
• A hate incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.
• Evidence of the hate element is not a requirement. You do not need to personally perceive the incident to be hate related. It would be enough if another person, a witness or even a police officer thought that the incident was hate related.
• Hate crime can fall into one of three main types: physical assault, verbal abuse and incitement to hatred.

Physical assault

• Physical assault of any kind is an offence. If you’ve been a victim of physical assault you should report it. Depending on the level of the violence used, a perpetrator may be charged with common assault, actual bodily harm or grievous bodily harm.

Verbal abuse

• Verbal abuse, threats or name-calling can be a common and extremely unpleasant experience for minority groups.
• Victims of verbal abuse are often unclear whether an offence has been committed or believe there is little they can do. However, there are laws in place to protect you from verbal abuse.
• Even if you don’t know who verbally abused you, the information could still help us to improve how we police the area where the abuse took place.

Incitement to hatred

• The offence of incitement to hatred occurs when someone acts in a way that is threatening and intended to stir up hatred. That could be in words, pictures, videos, music, and includes information posted on websites.

Hate content may include:

• Messages calling for violence against a specific person or group
• Web pages that show pictures, videos or descriptions of violence against anyone due to their perceived differences
• Chat forums where people ask other people to commit hate crimes against a specific person or group

• Should you decide to report the incident to the police, the call handler, who is not a police officer, will ask you basic questions to identify that you are currently safe and not in any danger. They will want to know your name, phone number and your location
• The police will want to look at any evidence that may be available in order to make a decision on what they can do next.
• Don’t delete any electronic communications from your phone or emails.
• Remember, nobody is there to judge you. The first concern of the police is that you are safe.
• Should you not be sure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our Police Community Support Officer
• You do not have to wait for this to be repeated to report it to the University however.
• If you are worried and want to discuss this with someone at the University now, you can contact firstpoint Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm on 01905 542551, e-mail them on firstpoint@worc.ac.uk, or pop in to the Peirson Building on St. Johns Campus. Outside of these hours you can call Security on 01905 855000 or e-mail them on Security@worc.ac.uk
• However, by reporting this incident via the portal and leaving your details, you will be contacted by an adviser from Student Services, and there is no need to contact firstpoint.
• If you are unsure you want to contact the police, you can ask for other support from Student Services via firstpoint or via this portal. Student Services can also arrange for you to speak to one of our University Police Community Support Officers.

Further Information:

West Mercia Police Support:

If you’ve been the victim of verbal abuse, talk to the police or one of our partner organisations about what has happened. You’ll find a list of them on the West Mercia How to report hate crime page.

You may have received some correspondence from the university about a disciplinary process following the university receiving information about your involvement in a harassment, abuse, bully, discrimination and/or hate crime incident.  If this is the case, you are entitled to receive support from the university should you want it.

If you would like support from Student Services, please e-mail: studentlife@worc.ac.uk if you would like to know what sort of support Student Services can offer, please visit: https://www2.worc.ac.uk/firstpoint/ If you would like support from the Students’ Union in regards to the disciplinary process, please visit the SU help and advice website: https://www.worcsu.com/helpandadvice/

Human Resources

All employees can seek confidential support and advice from HR should they be experiencing the above issues or have concerns about a colleague who is. HR can advise on potential next steps and signpost to options for emotional and practical support as needed. Staff currently cannot report any of the above issues in regards to themselves via this portal, but need to refer to the Harassment and Bullying Policy: HR Harassment and Bully Policy website

Counselling Support

Confidential counselling is available to all employees through the University’s Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) helpline, provided by PAM Assist. PAM Assist provide a 24-hours a day, 365 days a year confidential counselling telephone helpline (0800 884 4102), which is free and staffed by trained counsellors. Details of any conversations had are not disclosed to anyone at the University. Alternatively, employees can also access other helpful resources on www.pamassist.co.uk or via the PAM Assist app. Further details of the service are available on the HR website

University of Worcester Prevention of Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Harassment Policy

The University believes that every member of the University who is experiencing, or has experienced, Sexual Misconduct or Sexual Harassment should be enabled to seek advice and support from the University. The University is committed to dealing with any such disclosure in a supportive and where possible, confidential manner. The policy can be accessed via this link.