Button in Ugla to report harassment or bullying

The University's intra-web, Ugla, now includes a button that makes it easier for people to report gender-based and sexual harassment or violence, as well as bullying.

This button is one of the measures that has been implemented by the University after the Rector appointed a working group at the beginning of 2018 to respond to the #metoo movement from women in science. One of the focuses is simply to ensure that people are aware of the resources available and how to access them. A link has also been added to the front page of the University website to make resources more visible. Other ways of ensuring awareness of resources are under consideration, e.g. training for administrative staff. 

The role of the working group was to explore the steps required to prevent gender-based and sexual harassment and violence.  The working group has consulted with representatives of women in science, student representatives, the Professional Council at the University of Iceland and experts within and outside the University.

The group has compiled 16 goals and measures, which were publicised on the University website last March. Work on implementing these measures began immediately and the status of the projects was reviewed at a symposium entitled "Gendered power relations in academia", as part of the Equality Days programme in October 2018.

Implementation of all measures is underway, and significant progress has been made with some. 

For example, research into the teaching evaluation survey as a possible setting for harassment is in the final stages. The results of this research should be available in the spring. A qualitative and quantitative survey is also being created to investigate the scope and characteristics of sexual harassment, bullying and other kinds of violence among students and staff. Various education initiatives have been established on the subjects of equality, work culture, forms of sexual harassment, bullying and other kinds of violence, and resources available at the University. Education is aimed at administrators, staff and students.
Emphasis is placed on a diverse range of measures since this is a complex, long-term project requiring the concerted efforts of the entire University community.