Each department/school at KTH has its own contact person. They are obligated to guide you through the procedural routines in a correct and clear manner so you will receive all the support you need during both reporting and investigating such incidents. 

• ABE - School of Architecture and the Built Environment 

Cecilia Månson Blom

cecilia.manson@abe.kth.se

• CBH -  School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health

Per Dalhammar

perda@kth.se

• EECS - School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Marianne Lundin

marianlu@kth.se

• ITM - School of Industrial Engineering and Management

Andreas Alm Arvidsson

andreas.alm.arvidsson@itm.kth.se

• SCI - School of Engineering Sciences

Hanna Sara Karlsson 

hska@kth.se

Additionally, you can contact the responsible person at THS student union: studiesocialt@ths.kth.se

It is also possible to call Kvinnofridslinjen 020505050.

The process each contact person from the respective department is obligated to guide you through includes these  following five steps: 

1. Report your case

2. Investigation

3. Registration/Evaluation 

4. Decision/implement measurements

5. Follow up 

More about the report:

• If you experience any kind of discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment or degrading treatment (victimization) should you contact and report this to the responsible contact person from your department, see above, chapter 1. 

• KTH has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to such issues! Therefore, it is crucial to report such things so KTH knows what has happened and takes measurements to stop this kind of misbehavior. 

• Beyond reporting to KTH, you can report incidents to the police as well (in case of suspicion of a crime) the student union, or another Union where you are member.

• A report according to the Discrimination Act is done in order to stop the discrimination or harassment. This implies that KTH has a duty according to the law to take measurements to stop future harassment. They will initiate actions/measurements to prohibit similar incidents to happen. These kinds of measurements which are based on the Discrimination act are not similar to disciplinary measurements that can take place, see below. The Discrimination Ombudsman (DO) supervises such compliance with the law.  

• If you report an incident it is not always the case that disciplinary actions will be taken. Disciplinary actions (for example temporary suspension from your studies) take place only after general actions and action plans were not able to prohibit a certain discriminating or harassing behavior. This implies that disciplinary actions are often taken as the last step of the whole process. The disciplinary board and KTH principle can decide if such actions are necessary and what they should be. Similar rules apply for reports to the personnel disciplinary board, which can decide about disciplinary action towards KTH employees (for example salary decrease or suspension). Matters are often processed by the Disciplinary board parallel with investigating the incident according to the discrimination act. 

Definition: An anonymous report happens if the exposed person reports the incident to KTH without providing their name. 

• In the case of anonymous reports, it is hard for KTH to investigate the matter. KTH cannot evaluate a specific happening and no precise measurements will take place. They can however act on a general level and take general broad actions that will prohibit similar behavior in the future. For example, if a certain teacher has been discriminating against a student and the student reports this behavior anonymously, no specific actions against the teacher’s behavior can take place. However, reporting such incidents can lead to creating awareness in which courses/programs such behavior occurs more often and will make it easier for KTH to implement proactive measurements to prohibit future incidents. 

When this happens, it is impossible for KTH to make a legal disclaim and further send the report to the justice department and Disciplinary board. It is the Disciplinary board at KTH and the President that take decisions when it comes to evaluate specific happenings, such as disciplinary actions (e.g temporary suspension from studies). When it comes to teachers and employees at KTH, it will also include a report to the board of Staff at KTH, they take decisions such as disciplinary actions for KTH employees (e.g salary deduction or termination of employment.

• Since KTH has zero-tolerance regarding discrimination, harassment or degrading treatment (victimization) an anonymous report is going to put pressure on KTH to work more with the prevention of such misbehaviors. Therefore, it is important to report even if you do not want to provide your name. KTH needs statistics in order to get clarity about where their resources can do the biggest difference. 

It is important to remember that the responsible person/s is/are not going to be accused and deemed according to the law if the report is handed in anonymously. This means that an anonymous report is not as strong as a personal one. The investigation can be shut down if you don’t report with your name and only general actions can take place. On the other hand, is an anonymous report always better than none. However, we recommend you to carefully consider this and think about reporting with your name. If you report an incident with your name it does not automatically mean that disciplinary actions will take place. This will be decided for each individual case if no other action plans and general measurements helped to improve the situation. On a legal basis, there is a difference between disciplinary actions and the Disciplination act itself. 

• If you have witnessed an inappropriate happening you should report such. You as a witness shall be able to tell what has happened and stand to it with your name. If you choose to report an incident you witnessed without providing your name the investigation mainly lead to general measurements, see question 3.  

• If a person tells you a story of an inappropriate happening, you can also report this happening for them, you don’t have to have seen it with your own eyes. 

• If you chose to report an incident to one of the contact persons, see question 1, they are going to walk you through the process. Overall, the investigation will follow five steps as presented in question 2. 

• If you choose to report with your name, it will include an investigation process where all involved parties are going to be interviewed. The difference from reporting anonymously, more specific actions will be taken. KTH is always obligated according to the Discrimination act to investigate situations and take actions. While the investigation is ongoing, it is confidential to outsiders. However, those involved in the investigation will be able to take part in the documentation.

• Reported incidents must have happened during your study time at KTH or should affect your study environment according with the discrimination act. KTH always admits reports which affects your study environment. This implies that they are obligated to take actions against harassment or/and discrimination which affects the study environment. For example, if a discriminating incident has happened during a pub at Nymble, and this incident affects your study environment you should report such an incident. 

• By exception, the report can be forwarded to the disciplinary board. The situation must however have occurred during study time. This happens if the situation does re-emerge, even if different measurements have been conducted by the contact persons or the school. However, KTH works proactively to implement measures in parallel as the disciplinary matter is investigated. 

• KTH is providing support for you who wish to report incidents that break the Discrimination Act (Law). First, you should always contact the responsible person at your chapter, see question 1. Additionally, you can get support from KTH central if you have further questions; responsible persons to contact are:

  • Lena Salomonson

lenaas@kth.se 

• • Nina Holmsten 

nholmste@kth.se 

According to the Discrimination Act (2008:567), discrimination is, when one person is treated worse than another person for unjustified reasons. This unequal treatment is related to one or several of the discriminatory grounds; gender, gender-identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age. 

According to the Discrimination Act, it is prohibited for employees and education providers to discriminate, the law also prohibits retaliation, e.g. to counteract or harm someone who has reported you before. 

There are two types of discrimination; direct and indirect. Below examples for both cases are shown. 

• Direct discrimination: A female student asks a question during a seminar/lecture and the professor ignores her question. The same question is then later on asked by a male student and the professor answers this time the question.     

• Indirect discrimination: If a teacher is planning a mandatory event in a course, which however is impossible to attend for someone with a specific religious belief.   

• Harassment is behavior that violates a person’s integrity and is related to one of the discrimination grounds; gender, gender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age.

• Sexual harassment is if the harassing behavior is of sexual nature and violating a person’s integrity. Everything from unwanted touching, jokes, pawing, suggestions, looks or images that are sexually allusive and perceived in a deprecatory manner. General flirting can be seen as sexual harassment it is unwelcome, if the victim feels insulted, threatened, upset or mistreated.

Harassment is commonly a repeating behavior and is perceived as insulting, threatening, upsetting or mistreating behavior for the victim. 

• Degrading treatment occurs if an action is directed towards one or more people in an offensive manner that may lead to exclusion from a social/working environment or to mental illness. The incident may have occurred only once. 

• Other terms that can be used to describe victimization are bullying, physical violence or social exclusion. Such actions are highly disrespectful and breach the Work Environment Act. 

Example actions which are considered as victimization: 

• Slander and/or deprecatory someone

• To sabotage or to aggravate someone's work by withholding information or providing false information 

• Criticizing and/or offending someone in front of others