In ESN Jyväskylä, everyone has a right to feel safe and equal without the fear of discrimination, harassment, violence or bullying. This applies not only to our events, trips and other activities but to social channels as well. Additionally, we follow the safer space principles of the Student Union of the University of Jyväskylä (JYY) in our activities, and they bind us (ESN Jyväskylä) and our members.

JYY’s safer space principles

The first principle encourages everyone to be open, strive to understand others and face new situations and people without prejudice. It also emphasises taking new situations as an opportunity to learn and to assume that other people have good intentions rather than bad.

The second principle urges each person to recognise their presumptions, privileges and social position and to understand their role to be able to meet others more consciously.

The third one is to try to avoid discriminative and excluding language, behaviour or actions to make others feel equal.

The fourth principle, respecting each other, includes respecting other people’s personal space but also respecting yours and asking for more space for yourself when needed. Further, respecting doesn’t include harassment.

The next, fifth, is to bring up and intervene in situations that break safety and equality. It is also important to remember that it is natural for others but also for you to make mistakes, but being open-minded, ready to learn, and apologising when making a mistake enables development.

The sixth and last rule is mainly for associations to be aware of the physical and psychological accessibility of their activities in order to be more inclusive.

Discrimination

Discrimination refers to the unjust or prejudicial treatment of individuals or groups based on certain characteristics. It can be based on, but not limited to one’s:

  • physical appearance
  • ethnicity or nationality
  • age
  • gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression
  • socioeconomic and educational background
  • disabilities or impairments of any kind
  • ethics or values, political or religious views, or
  • language and literary.

Discrimination often involves treating people unfairly or differently based on these characteristics.

Harassment

Harassment considers behaviour that is unwanted and sometimes persistent, causing discomfort, fear and distress. It may involve verbal or physical actions that aim to intimidate or offend an individual who is the target of harassment. Harassment can occur in various places, such as in events, social media or public places.

Violence & bullying

Violence encompasses a wide range of actions to cause harm, injury, or damage to another individual, group or object. It occurs in several forms:

  • Verbal, such as insults
  • Psychological (mental/emotional), such as threats, isolation and humiliation
  • Physical, such as punches

Bullying on the other hand is a form of aggressive behaviour that involves repeated and intentional actions that are meant to harm, intimidate, or control another person, and it often occurs in a specific setting. Also, the bully and the bullied are usually connected.

What to do if you face harassment?

If you have any issues with someone, you can try to solve them by directly contacting the other person or the parties that are involved. Try to remain respectful so the situation doesn’t escalate. Sometimes people can be oblivious without meaning any harm or behave discriminatory due to a lack of understanding of how their behaviour can affect another person. Having a conversation about the matter might help people to grow and understand better their actions.

If you need any help or support or want to raise any concerns, you can contact us:

  • during the events by finding the harassment contact person(s)
  • through email: board@esnjyvaskyla.org, or
  • contacting any ESN Jyväskylä board member for example by WhatsApp or position-specific email (email addresses can be found here).

Your matter will be discussed confidentially, and we will not take any actions without your consent. The person you contacted can raise the issue, if necessary, without providing personal information (e.g. without giving names), during our board meeting or on the communication channel of our board if the matter requires broader discussion or if they need any guidance on how to provide help.

If you study at the University of Jyväskylä, you can also contact harassment contact persons of the Student Union JYY. They can help or assist you in your experiences of harassment, bullying or discrimination. No actions are taken without the consent of the student in question. Contact info:

If you study at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences, you can contact the harassment contact person of the Student Union JAMKO: hairinta@jamko.fi.