Services for members

AYY’s harassment contact persons

Have you experienced or encountered bullying, sexual harassment or racism in the Aalto community? No one has to put up with inappropriate conduct. Aalto University Student Union’s harassment contact persons can help and advise you in resolving the situation.

Harassment cannot always be straightforwardly identified as harassment while it is happening. Yet it is always better to intervene in situations that appear to be unpleasant to one party. Neither is harassment always directed at an individual. It can also come out as racism or sexism portrayed as jokes or part of the student culture, for example. However, racism, sexism or harassment should never be written off as mere humour. What is funny to one person might be a continuation of nasty and discriminatory experiences for another.

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AYY’s harassment contact persons

You can get in touch with AYY’s harassment contact persons, who will help and advise you in resolving the situation. You can also get in touch with the harassment contact persons if you are not sure whether the situation you faced was harassment. Contacts with the harassment contact persons are confidential and will not lead to further action unless the person who made the contact so wishes.

AYY has two harassment contact persons who will support you in resolving harassment situations. You can contact the harassment contact persons if you have experienced or witnessed harassment, need help with the follow-up of resolving harassment situations or just want to talk about the inappropriate behaviour you have witnessed.

If you think that the harassment situation qualifies as a criminal offense, you should contact the police.

AYY’s harassment contact persons

  • Ronja Mäkinen 
  • Lauri Jurvanen

Both harassment contact persons can be reached collectively at [email protected].

If AYY's association needs help with the prevention of harassment and inappropriate behaviour and the development of equality work, AYY’s Equity sector ([email protected]) offers their help and support.

Instructions for those who face inappropriate conduct

While inappropriate conduct is going on, the most important thing is to make it stop: let the person behaving inappropriately know in clear terms that what they are doing is not acceptable and ask them to stop. It might even be that they do not realise they are being offensive.

If the harassment does not stop, or if you have not been able to discuss it with the harasser, you can take the matter further by seeking assistance for handling the matter.

If harassment or inappropriate conduct occurs at an event with security, you can also tell the security personnel about it.

You can also ask someone for help if intervening on your own feels difficult. As well as communicating the inappropriateness of the conduct, it is also important to support the person facing inappropriate behaviour. The more people show they are on the harassed person’s side, the clearer the message about what kind of behaviour is acceptable in the community.

What to do if you encounter inappropriate conduct in a teaching situation?

If you experience harassment or inappropriate treatment during teaching or in a study-related situation, you can tell the lecturer or another staff member who is present. They have a duty to intervene.

If the harassment or inappropriate conduct does not stop, or if the harasser is a member of the university staff, you can contact your School’s Head of Learning Services (e-mails addresses are [email protected]), who has a duty to take the matter further.

Contact information can be found on Aalto's website.

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