Harassment and Bullying

Harassment generally involves conduct, comments or displays that make you feel intimidated, humiliated, offended, embarrassed, belittled, degraded, or otherwise causes offence. Examples of harassment may include:

unwelcome remarks, jokes, nicknames, innuendo, or taunting
written or verbal abuse or threats
racial slurs
displays that may cause offence
use of terminology that reinforces stereotypes
vandalism or physical assaults
condescending or patronising behaviour that undermines self respect or adversely affects performance or working conditions.

If you are being harassed, you may:

experience an inability to concentrate
miss information in class
be fearful for your physical safety
not feel confident to speak in class if the harasser is in the same class
not feel confident to access resources around the campus in case you bump into the harasser
experience stress and anxiety that may lead to illness and can affect all your relationships
feel that you can't come to classes and withdraw from study altogether.

TAFE SA is responsible for ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment, and must deal with a harassment issue effectively and immediately if it arises. If you are being harassed in class and you feel comfortable to, speak to your lecturer. You can also discuss the problem with a student counsellor, who can offer you information about the Student Complaint Resolution Policy and your options for dealing with the complaint.

If the harassment is serious and continues despite your efforts to deal with it, you may need intervention such as mediation or an investigation, which may result in disciplinary action against the harasser. The student services officer can assist you with lodging a formal complaint if this is necessary.