Offensive behaviour

Reject the situation out loud. If you experience offensive behaviour, it is a good idea that you reject out loud the situation. You are well within your rights to reject any offensive situation!

Show your support. If you are a witness to offensive behaviour, show your support by demonstrating empathy, sympathy and support for the person who is experiencing the offensive behaviour. 

Talk with someone. If you experience a situation which you regard as offensive, it is always a good idea to talk to other persons about it. For example, with other students. You are also welcome to contact Absalon’s student counsellors or The Student Counselling Service.

You are always welcome to contact Absalon’s student counsellors if you need a professional supervisor to talk with about your experience. For contact details, click here. 

If you want to talk with someone who is independent of Absalon, you are welcome to contact the Student Counselling Service. The Student Counselling Service provides free social and psychological help to all students on higher education programmes based on the concept “Safe talk”, which is specially devised for students who have experienced offensive behaviour. To learn more about The Student Counselling Service and get their contact details, click here. 

Absalon’s student counsellors and The Student Counselling Services have a duty of confidentiality and can help you to discuss your experience. They can also help you to go further, for example, should you wish to officially report offensive behaviour to Absalon.

You can officially report offensive behaviour regardless of whether it relates to a fellow student, an employee at Absalon or a person connected to your work placement or clinic placement. You can report the offensive behaviour regardless of whether it is yourself who has experienced the offensive behaviour or if you have been a witness to offensive behaviour. 

If you wish to officially report offensive behaviour, you must contact your Head of Study. If you do not want your Head of Study to process the report, then you can contact a team leader in Student Services instead. You shall be contacted by the Head of Study or by the team leader two days at the latest after you officially reported the offensive behaviour. 

What happens when I officially report the offensive behaviour?
The Head of Study or team leader will examine the reported offensive behaviour and decide which next steps must be taken in relation to the case. As a minimum, you can expect to be interviewed by the Head of Study or team leader, and the person or persons that you have stated have behaved offensively towards you, will also be interviewed. It is not possible for you to be anonymous, unless there are special circumstances. 

Remember, you are always welcome to have a companion who can sit with you during the interview. For example, someone from The Student Counselling Service, who provide free assistance in such matters. To learn more about this option, click here. 

Who shall I contact?
You will find the contact information for your Head of Study on Study Net under “My Programme”. Simply choose the education programme that you are a part of.  

If you want a team leader from Student Services to handle your report of offensive behaviour, then please contact 

• Gitte Saltoft Christiansen, by e-mail at gisc@pha.dk or by telephone at 72 48 29 96.

Offensive behaviour is when one or more persons grossly or repeatedly exposes one or more other persons to bullying, sexual harassment or other degrading behaviour.

The behaviour must be perceived as degrading by the victim or victims. Violations can be physical, verbal, non-verbal and digital, for example via Absalon's platforms.