Bullying and Harassment

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power.

Power does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation.

Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal, non-verbal and online conduct. Actions may constitute bullying whether or not the person behaving in that way intends to cause offence. This also applies to people who are not the subject of the bullying, but who may witness and be offended by it. 

Examples of bullying include, but are not limited to:  

• shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others  
• overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision 
• inappropriate and/or derogatory remarks about someone’s performance  
• abuse of authority or power by those in positions of seniority  
• deliberately excluding someone without good reason. 

Bullying can take the form of persistent behaviour or a single action.

Important to note: There are differences between bullying and assertive management. Bullying is always unfair and may undermine someone’s efforts to perform well. Assertive management, on the other hand, may involve setting demanding – but fair and achievable – targets and standards of behaviour appropriate to someone’s job, grade and level of responsibility. 

Harassment (as defined by Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010) includes unwanted behaviour or conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment because of, or connected to, one or more of the following protected characteristics:

• age 
• disability 
• gender reassignment 
• race 
• religion or belief 
• sex 
• sexual orientation 

Under our definition, we understand harassment to include domestic violence and abuse (which can also involve control, coercion and threats) and stalking.

We would also consider harassment to include any incidents of physical violence towards another person(s) on the basis of a protected characteristic.
 Unwanted behaviour could be, but is not limited to: 

• Deliberate physical and/or verbal abuse including embarrassing or derogatory remarks, jokes, name-calling and obscene gestures.  
• Ridiculing an individual because of physical differences, the way they present their masculinity or femininity, in terms of dress or attitude. 
• Making stereotypical assumptions about colleagues, friends or members of the public based on their sexuality. 
• Deliberate interference with wheelchair or support equipment.  
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or ageist ‘jokes’, or derogatory or stereotypical remarks about a particular ethnic or religious group or gender. 
• Outing or threatening to out someone as gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans. 
• Ridiculing an individual because of the way they dress or their religious observance customs.  
• Using blasphemous or offensive language against any religion or belief, or making inappropriate or derogatory references to religious figures or customs.  

Report and Support is not an emergency reporting tool. 

If you are in immediate danger or seriously injured: 

• On Campus, during office hours, call the Safeguarding Team: For Bedford sites 01234 291888, for Tresham sites: 01536 413004  
• If you are Deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, please send a text message, starting the message with the word safe to 07860 097683, this is available during office hours. 
• Off Campus, Emergency Services: 999 

•  Safe Place Scheme: The Safe Place Scheme establishes a safe location on campus, providing support following a violent, hateful or harassing incident. The scheme is intended to facilitate:  
• Access to emergency support/security  
• Signposting to reporting & support services  
• A safe place to wait – these can be found in Student Services, the wellbeing zones and LRC’s 
• A Safe Space: If you cannot access one of these safe places, then try to find a space which makes you feel most comfortable and safe from harm.  
• What are bullying and harassment? You may find it useful to think about what is meant by a Hate Incident and/or a Hate Crime, and examples of these behaviours.  

If you are not in immediate danger, currently feel safe from harm and do not need to report an emergency – then speaking to someone about your options is a great place to start. 

• Report and Support: If you submit a report with details, we will respond within 2 College Working Days. Your report will not trigger a formal complaints process, and an advisor will confidentially speak to you about both your reporting and support options. You will never be forced to submit a report to the police, or a Formal Complaint to the College- as this is your choice.  

All help and advice from unions is independent of the Bedford College Group 

• Victim Support: is the independent charity for people affected by crime and traumatic events in England and Wales. Their support is free and confidential.  

It is entirely within your right to formally report bullying and harassment. You can formally report something to the College and/or the police if it constitutes a criminal offence.  

• Report and Support: If you submit a report with details, we will respond within 2 College Working Days. Your report will not trigger a formal complaints process, and an advisor will confidentially speak to you about both your reporting and support options. You will never be forced to submit a report to the police, or a Formal Complaint to the College- as this is your choice.
• Report Harassment to the Police: Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire  Harassment is both a criminal offence and a civil action under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. This means that someone can be prosecuted in the criminal courts if they harass you. It also means you can take action against the person in the civil courts. 
  Generally speaking harassment is behaviour which causes you distress or alarm.
  The Act also says you must have experienced at least two incidents by the same person or group of people for it to be harassment.
  It’s the courts that decide if something is harassment under the Act. The courts will look at whether most people or a reasonable person would think the behaviour amounts to harassment. 
   

If you would like to speak to someone about how the incident(s) has emotionally affected you, or you would like to use some of the support services below for self-care, that is okay. 

• Report and Support: If you submit a report with details, we will respond within 2 College Working Days. Your report will not trigger a formal complaints process, and an advisor will confidentially speak to you about both your reporting and support options. You will never be forced to submit a report to the police, or a Formal Complaint to the College- as this is your choice.  
• Wellbeing Support Services: The College’s Student Services Teams, and Personal Achievement Tutors can support you with practical and emotional issues impacting your wellbeing or mental health and aspects of College life, including referrals for counselling support. 
• Personal Achievement Tutors: if your studies have been affected by an incident, your personal tutor could help to explain your options with regards to academic and pastoral support.  

• Are they in Immediate Danger?  

Report and Support is not an emergency reporting tool.  

• On Campus, during office hours, call the Safeguarding Team: For Bedford sites 01234 291888, for Tresham sites: 01536 413004  
• If you are Deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, please send a text message, starting the message with the word safe to 07860 097683, this is available during office hours. 
• Off Campus, Emergency Services: 999 
• Find a Safe Space 

Safe Place Scheme: The Safe Place Scheme establishes a network of safe harbour locations on campus and its surroundings areas, providing consistent and appropriate levels of signposting and support following a violent, hateful or harassing incident. The scheme is intended to facilitate:  

• Access to emergency support/security  
• Signposting to reporting & support services
• A safe place to wait 
• A Safe Space: If you cannot access one of these safe places, then try to find a space which makes you feel most comfortable and safe from harm.  
• What are bullying and harassment? You may find it useful to think about what is meant by bullying and harassment, and examples of these behaviours.  

• Listening is the most valuable thing you can do at first.  
• Find a private place to talk, and tell them you are glad they are telling you.  
• Be patient and let them tell you as little or as much as they want at their own pace, without interrupting. Talking about how they feel can be as helpful or more helpful than talking about the details. Take their lead on this.  
• Show them that you are actively listening through your body language (e.g. nodding, facing in their direction, sitting down at eye level) and words (e.g. “I hear what you’re saying”).  
• Respect their personal space, and do not touch them. Even if you think they want a comforting touch, resist your urge to do so.  
• Always follow their lead. You can offer them something to keep them warm, like a blanket or your jacket (shock can involve feeling cold, shivering and shaking).  
• Do not take detailed notes of what the person is telling you, or else these may be used in an investigation if the person ever chooses to report the incident. Listening and believing is key at this moment in time.  
• Remember your role in this situation. It does not matter if you are someone’s best friend, a stranger, a personal tutor, a line manager or colleague; you are neither the police nor an investigating officer. You do not need to interrogate or question someone for details.

• Ensure you are non-judgemental, reassuring and supportive if you ever respond throughout listening. Use phrases such as:  
• “I believe you. / It took a lot of courage to tell me about this.”  
• “It’s not your fault. / You didn’t do anything to deserve this.”  
• “You are not alone. / I care about you and am here to listen or help in any way I can.”  
• “I’m sorry this happened. / This shouldn’t have happened to you.”

• If the person you are supporting is a College student or a College staff member, then you should signpost them to Report and Support.  
• Report and Support is the College’s single online reporting platform for direct, confidential help, and no report triggers a formal complaint.  
• A full list of the support and reporting options for those affected by Bullying and Harassment can be found here.  
• You can support someone in reporting the incident to the College, as the online form allows you to select if you are helping someone to input a report at this time. It will then guide you through the process step by step.  
• If they do not want to discuss their options at this time, that is okay. Let them go at their own pace.  
• Signpost them to Report and Support– if they ever choose to look through either their reporting or support options in their own time, they can all be found here.  
• Never pressure someone into reporting. Regardless of whether you believe it is the right thing to do. This is about them and their choices, not yours.
   

• Regardless of what they choose to do, offer your ongoing support.  
• Check in periodically: The experience may have happened a long time ago, but that does not mean that the pain goes away. Check in with them, letting them know that you care about their well-being and that you believe them.   
• Know your resources. You’re a strong supporter, but that doesn’t mean you’re equipped to manage someone else’s health. Become familiar with the Report and Support pages, as you can recommend to those affected.  

•   They may not want to report the experience to the police or College. There are a lot of reasons why someone may choose not to report. That is okay. 
• They may have fear or confusion about the reporting or support options, making them too intimidating to process at this time. Signposting for later reference, is still support. 
• They might be concerned about who else will be informed- that is where the FAQs section is helpful.  

• Receiving disclosures and supporting others can be incredibly difficult.  
• All the support available to those directly affected by bullying and harassment is also available to supporters.  
• Do not feel like you are not worthy of support, because the experience did not directly happen to you. You will not be able to support others, without first supporting yourself.