Harassment Prevention and Countermeasures (English)
Booklet (English)
Poster (English)
The education, research, and medical undertakings carried out at Kyoto University involve a broad spectrum of human interaction and relationships. For students, faculty, and staff, it is vital that these relationships are positive and productive. However, the relationships between instructors and students, supervisors and staff, can on occasion develop into an inappropriate power relationship. Such cases can not only hinder work and study, but can cause profound emotional distress to the targets of the harassment. This includes such inappropriate behavior as sexual harassment.
Kyoto University is implementing appropriate measures to ensure that such incidents do not occur on its campuses, and in the unfortunate event that they do, the University will make the utmost efforts to respond swiftly to remedy the situation. Kyoto University respects the individual rights of all of its students, faculty, and staff, and strives to ensure that each person can devote themselves to their work or study in a conducive environment.
If you are a target of harassment
- Do not endure the harassment alone — discuss the matter with someone you can trust.
- Through your words and actions, make it clear to the person who is harassing you that their behavior is disagreeable to you. If you merely ignore or endure the harassment, the situation will not improve. In some cases of harassment, the perpetrator is unaware that their actions are causing offense.
- Make a written record of the instances of harassment. If there are witnesses, confirm the occurrences with them.
- Discuss the matter with the university Counseling Service.
If you witness someone being harassed
When you are aware that someone is being harassed, please offer assistance to the target of the harassment.
- If you witness disagreeable behavior, caution the perpetrator about their conduct.
- When necessary, act as a witness.
- Listen to what the target of the harassment has to say and be supportive — don't place the blame on them.
- Encourage the target of the harassment to visit the university Counseling Service — offer to accompany them.
Due to the very nature of harassment, it is difficult for targets of harassment to come forward. The university Counseling Service is open, not only to the targets of harassment themselves, but also to third-party witnesses of harassment.