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Social safety

Do you need help or would you like to make a complaint about inappropriate behavior at the University of West Bohemia?
The Social Safety page is here to help.

WORD FROM THE RECTOR

The University of West Bohemia considers any form of bullying, aggression, intimidation, sexual or gender-based violence or discrimination unacceptable, regardless of whether the person concerned is a student or an employee. It therefore promotes the concept of social safety, i.e., the creation of a positive learning and working environment, an environment that develops the full potential of all, an environment that is welcoming, fair, safe, supportive and one that expresses respect for individuality. 

Social safety at UWB is guaranteed by independent and impartial persons who can be contacted in cases where social safety may have been violated. These persons include the Ombudsman, members of the Ethics Committee and the Whistleblowing Coordinator.

prof. RNDr. Miroslav Lávička, Ph.D.
Rector

UWB OMBUDSMAN

From 2024, the role of Ombudsman at UWB has been held by Petr Šimon. 
A graduate of the Faculty of Education of the University of West Bohemia, he has been professionally engaged in activities and projects related to equal opportunities, education and culture since 2008. At UWB, he has been responsible for equal opportunities and non-discrimination since 2021.

The UWB Ombudsman is an impartial and independent person who protects the rights of UWB students and staff who are potentially threatened by discriminatory behavior within the institution. He is therefore the person to whom one can turn in the event that some form of violation of social safety may have occurred at the University of West Bohemia, for example, discrimination, unequal treatment, bullying, aggression or sexual and gender-based violence.

The Ombudsman investigates situations brought to his attention in the form of complaints, mediates disputes and conflicts within the organization, provides assistance to all those who contact him in the area of social safety, and, last but not least, oversees the creation and maintenance of social safety at UWB.

GLOSSARY

OF SOCIAL

SAFETY TERMS

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

WHAT IS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE? FORMS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE MANIFESTATIONS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

SEXUAL VIOLENCE

WHAT IS SEXUAL VIOLENCE FORMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

DISCRIMINATION

WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION DIRECT DISCRIMINATION INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION

OTHER FORMS OF UNACCEPTABLE CONDUCT

BULLYING - DELIBERATE, SYSTEMATIC, REPETITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE THAT CAN HARM INDIVIDUALS AND THE WHOLE TEAM

WHAT IS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE?

According to the Gender Equality Strategy 2021-2030 issued by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, gender-based violence includes "all acts of physical, sexual, psychological, economic or other forms of violence that target women because they are women or men because they are men, or acts of such violence that disproportionately affect women or men".

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FORMS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

  • gender harassment (gender-based derogatory comments)
  • sexual harassment (sexually explicit comments about appearance or unsolicited touching)
  • sexual violence (rape or sexual coercion)
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MANIFESTATIONS OF GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

  • stalking (repeated harassing messages, stalking)
  • physical violence (kicking, pushing or punching, obstructing movement)
  • psychological violence (swearing, insults, humiliation, interrupting others)
  • economic violence (denying access to financial resources)
  • organizational violence (downplaying, tolerating or supporting individual violence by the management of the institution and those in leadership positions)
  • cyber-violence (sending intimidating or sexually explicit emails)
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WHAT IS SEXUAL VIOLENCE

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) definition, sexual violence includes "any sexual conduct involving attempts to obtain sexual intercourse, inappropriate sexual remarks and advances, acts of trafficking or otherwise directed against an individual's sexuality that use coercion, by any person, regardless of the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator, and in any setting, including the home and work. Sexual violence is therefore an attempt to gain, increase or assert one's dominance over another person by using sexuality as a tool of power.

A victim of gender-based and sexual violence can be a woman, a man, a child or a queer person.

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FORMS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Contact sexual abuse

  • unsolicited touching, caressing, kissing
  • coerced sexual practices
  • rape

Non-contact sexual abuse

  • unsolicited sexual comments and advances
  • voyeurism, exhibitionism, masturbation
  • forced viewing of pornography
  • taking and disseminating intimate photographs
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WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION

According to the Anti-Discrimination Act, discrimination can be direct or indirect. Discrimination includes harassment, sexual harassment, stalking, instruction to discriminate and incitement to discriminate.

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DIRECT DISCRIMINATION

Conduct, including omissions, where one person is treated less favorably than another person in a comparable situation is or would be treated because of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, faith, or worldview. Discrimination on grounds of gender shall also include discrimination on grounds of pregnancy, maternity or paternity and on grounds of gender identification.

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INDIRECT DISCRIMINATION

An act or omission where, on the basis of a seemingly neutral provision, criterion, or practice, one is placed at a disadvantage relative to others because of race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, faith, or worldview.

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BULLYING - DELIBERATE, SYSTEMATIC, REPETITIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL ABUSE THAT CAN HARM INDIVIDUALS AND THE WHOLE TEAM

Bossing - bullying of subordinates by superiors. This is prolonged and systematic coercion which may include gossip, lies, blackmail, withholding information, falsifying documents, refusing to cooperate, or harassment and inappropriate conduct with sexual overtones.

Staffing - bullying of superiors by subordinates, which is intended to harm superiors. The forms tend to be the same as for bossing.

Mobbing - bullying by colleagues. It is manifested, for example, by ridicule, unreasonable criticism or exclusion from the team.

Defamation - disparagement and damage to reputation manifested by spreading rumors, for example, in order to gain promotion at the expense of the person disparaged (so-called chairing).

Silent treatment - ignoring and disregarding.

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