What Are Bullying And Harassment?

What Are Bullying & Harassment

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour, including an abuse of power to undermine, humiliate or injure a person. 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 verbal and non-verbal conduct including postings on social media outlets. Bullying may include:

• shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others;
• psychological threats;
• 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 from meetings or communications without good reason.

Legitimate, reasonable and constructive criticism of performance or behaviour, or reasonable instructions given to staff in the course of their employment, will not amount to bullying on their own.

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. This includes harassment by association or perception. It also includes treating someone less favourably because they have submitted or refused to submit to such behaviour in the past.

Unlawful harassment may involve Sexual Misconduct, Hate Incident/Crime, Discrimination, or be related to a protected characteristic. These are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion (including faith, belief, or lack of), sex, and sexual orientation. At MLA College, we believe harassment is unacceptable even if it does not fall within any of these categories (for instance, if someone was harassed due to their appearance or body type).

Harassment may include, for example:

• unwanted physical conduct, including touching, pinching, pushing, grabbing, brushing past someone, invading their personal space and more serious forms of physical or sexual assault;
• offensive or intimidating comments or gestures, or insensitive jokes or pranks;
• mocking, mimicking or belittling a person’s disability;
• 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 LGBTQ+;
• ignoring or shunning someone, for example, by deliberately excluding them from a conversation or a social activity.

A person may be harassed even if they were not the intended “target”. For example, a person may be harassed by racist jokes about a different ethnic group if they create an offensive environment.

Bullying and harassment are contrary to the Equality Act 2010 and the Student Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy. 

Find out more 

• Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) provide further information on unlawful harassment

What Support Is Available If I Have Been Bullied Or Harassed?

If you think you or someone you know has been bullied or harassed there is a variety of support options available. 

Students

Our Student Experience Team are the first port of call for any questions you may have regarding the College’s policies or procedures regarding bullying or harassment. You can also disclose incidents to our team. You can also choose to report incidents via our anonymous SafeSpace Zone.

Students & Staff

SafeSpace Zone – Students and staff can disclose how they have been affected by bullying and harassment using the College’s SafeSpace Zone. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support from an advisor. If you choose to talk to an advisor, they will be able to talk through the reporting options and support available to you, in confidence. 

Citizens Advice These pages provide information around bullying and harassment at work.

ACASThe ACAS helpline is for anyone who needs employment law or workplace advice, including employers, employees and workers.

I Think I Have Been Bullied Or Harassed

We believe that bullying and harassment are never okay.

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, persistent malicious or insulting behaviour, including an abuse of power to undermine, humiliate or injure a person.

Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. 

Find out more here: What are bullying and harassment? 

What Should I Do?

• Think: Are you in immediate danger? If you are in immediate danger or seriously injured, you can call 999 (or 112 from a mobile), or your local emergency services.
• Find a safe space:  If an incident has just happened, try and find somewhere you feel safe. If this isn’t possible and you are scared or fearful you should call the emergency services in your location.
• Talk to a friend: Talking things through with someone you trust can sometimes help. 
• Seek support: What support is available if I have been bullied or harassed?  
• Report: SafeSpace Zone Students and staff can report an incident using the College’s SafeSpace Zone. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support from an advisor. If you choose to talk to an advisor they will be able to talk through the options and support available to you, in confidence. 
• Take care of yourself: It’s important that you take care of yourself. If you’ve heard something distressing or if something is troubling you, Students can contact our Student Experience Team student.experience@mla.ac.uk.

I Think Someone I Know Has Been Bullied Or Harassed

If you think someone you know has been bullied or harassed, there are lots of ways in which you can help them. 

Most people will usually describe what has or is happening to them and how it’s making them feel. However, they may not be able to clearly define their experience. Understanding the behaviours associated with bullying and harassment is a good place to start if you want to support them. Find out more here: What are bullying and harassment?

What Should I Do?

• Think: Are they in immediate danger? If they are in immediate danger or seriously injured, you can call your local emergency services.
• Find a safe space: If an incident has just happened, try and find somewhere they can feel safe. If this isn’t possible and they are scared or fearful, you should call emergency services
• Listen: Just taking the time to listen to someone and talk about what has happened can help.
• Give options: What support is available if I have been bullied or harassed? 
• Report: SafeSpace Zone – Students and staff can report an incident that they witnessed or have been made aware of by using the College’s SafeSpace Zone. You can choose to do this anonymously or you can request support from an advisor. If you choose to talk to an advisor, they will be able to talk through the options and support available to you, in confidence.
• Take care of yourself: It’s important that you take care of yourself. It is not easy to support someone who has experienced any form of harassment. If you’ve heard something distressing or if something is troubling you, please contact our Student Experience Team student.experience@mla.ac.uk