Updated 01.05.2021
The purpose of the guidelines is to make it easier to detect and report harassment and unwanted attention.
The guidelines reinforce § 6 Environment of the organization in the articles of association.
The guidelines are not intended to moderate or regulate relationships between good friends or acquaintances.
The core values of the guidelines are care and consideration for others and their personal boundaries. We encourage you to show curiosity upon others in a respectful way.
Steatornis has zero tolerance for all forms of harassment and unwanted attention.
Everyone has a duty to report if they themselves, or witness that others are exposed to unwanted attention in connection with activities or meetings led by Steatornis or partner organizations.
The Whistleblowing Officer (WO) handles whistleblowing cases in Steatornis.
The whistleblowing officer is the chairperson of the board, deputy chair and other board members who have completed training for handling whistleblowing cases.
There must be at least 2 responsible parties who handle each whistleblowing case.
The whistleblowing officer may request to withdraw from processing a whistleblowing case on the basis of disqualification or conflict of interest.
Current whistleblowing officers are:
Unwanted attention is circumstances in which one or more persons expose others to sexual harassment, discrimination, racism or circumstances that are perceived as undesirable for the victim.
Sexual harassment is unwanted sexual attention that has the purpose or effect of being offensive, frightening, hostile, degrading, humiliating or distressing.
This can be anything from glances, comments about the body, sexuality and sexual orientation that are perceived as sexual. There may also be unwanted touching, groping and, in the most serious cases, sexual assault.
Sending and disseminating nude photos, sexualised images/videos or porn on social media may also be perceived as sexual harassment and may in special cases be a violation of the law.
Sexual assault is sexual acts against a person who has not consented, has not been able to consent, has expressed that the consent no longer applies, or where it should have been understood that this was no longer wanted.
Racism is unwanted attention related to the victim's ethnicity, ancestry or indigenous affiliation.
Comments such as appearance, choice of clothing or accent (pronunciation) and language skills that victims experience as offensive or harassing can be considered racism.
Discrimination is undesirable circumstances where, for example, the victim's functional variation, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation provide a basis for victims being ostracized, feeling uncomfortable or slandered.
Situations where victims do not feel that they can attend events on the basis of the aforementioned characteristics are also discrimination. Those responsible for events should think about word choices before inviting them to, for example, "girls' night", "game night for the guys" and the like, since such formulations can lead to exclusion.
Exploitation of power relations are situations in which board members or elected officials use their position for their own gain. This may, for example, be situations of a sexual nature where the victim, because of the power relationship, cannot say no. Uneven power relations can also arise due to privileges, gender roles or other social structures and more.
Victims are those who are exposed to unwanted attention.
The accused is someone who is accused of unwanted attention to the victim.
Whistleblowers are those who have reported unwanted attention.
Whistleblowers can be used in cases where the victim has not reported the whistleblowing case themselves.
The notification routines are written pointwise as a whistleblowing case usually goes from start to finish.
Please contact the whistleblowing officer if:
If the victim/whistleblower wishes to report anonymously, the identity must be kept confidential. Only the whistleblowing officer who receives anonymous whistleblowing must know the identity of the whistleblower or victim.
If you have experienced unwanted attention, please contact a whistleblowing officer. You can also ask a friend or other trustee to help you report.
Some important advice for those who are going to report:
If you have experienced unwanted attention, you can report this in the following ways:
Those who receive the whistleblowing case have a duty to act and must notify the whistleblowing officer.
Everyone who helps with whistleblowing should treat the information about the report confidentially. What you have said is never passed on to anyone other than the victim, accused or whistleblower, and not without your consent.
If you have experienced others being exposed to unwanted attention, you are obliged to notify the whistleblowing officer.
We recommend helping victims document the incident (section 3.1) if they are unable to do so themselves. A whistleblower can also ask for help from a trusted friend or other person.
Ask the victim if they can explain the situation and help write down details about the incident, time, place and involved.
If you have seen someone being exposed to unwanted attention, but do not know the victim or accused, please let the whistleblowing officer know.
These may be situations where:
In cases where witnesses contact the whistleblowing officer about an incident, the victim decides whether they want to start the case.
In cases where severity is considered high enough, a case is established despite the whistleblower's wishes. Whistleblowers are kept anonymous as far as possible if they wish.
If the whistleblowing officer considers the severity to be low, and those involved do not wish to take the case further, the whistleblowing case will be closed. See sections 3.8 and 6.
Whistleblowers of unwanted attention are also offered follow-up.
(posted on an ongoing basis)
The whistleblowing officer creates a new case and informs the victim about what happens next.
Postponed persons will be summoned to a meeting as soon as possible and no later than 1 week after receipt of notification. Victims have the opportunity to bring a trustee to the meeting.
The whistleblowing officer ensures that victims receive good information about what they must do in connection with documentation and securing evidence.
If employee representatives, members or other partners receive notification of unwanted attention, they have a duty to act (see section 5).
Help victims document the incident (see section 3.1).
Notify the whistleblowing officer as soon as possible.
The purpose of the meeting is to clarify the victim's allegations and to ensure that the whistleblower understands the victim's version of the case.
The whistleblowing officer has a duty of confidentiality, but also has a duty to act, which entails restoring a safe environment in the organisation.
Victims are asked to hand over relevant documents and evidence. Victims can be given access to a secure folder in the cloud where documentation can be uploaded.
Victims are asked to give their version of the incident and how it was experienced.
Ask if there were witnesses to the incident or if there is other evidence to support the allegations of harassment.
The expectations of the postponers are clarified. What do victims want the report to lead to? What can Steatornis do for victims while the case is being processed?
The whistleblowing officer writes the minutes of the meeting. The minutes shall contain:
The WO will assess the severity of the report.
The accused has the right to respond. Both parties have the right to give their version of what happened and to gain access to the other party's version of the case. If the report is anonymous, a separate section for handling anonymous reports must be followed (see section 3.3).
Within a week, the WO will have a meeting with the accused. The purpose is to get the accused's version of the case. The accused learns that they may have a trustee with them.
The accused has the right to know who made the allegations, as well as which event(s) the report is based on.
The whistleblowing officer writes the minutes of the meeting. The minutes shall contain:
The whistleblowing officer explains the further plan for progress in the case.
In cases where those involved have provided witnesses, they should be summoned for meetings. Witnesses are asked to clarify whether they witnessed alleged incidents. Information such as the relationship between the witness and those involved can be useful to obtain. The whistleblowing officer writes minutes.
If the people involved are to enter into dialogue, this should be done at the request of the victim. The whistleblowing officer writes minutes.
If the whistleblowing officer needs help processing the case, they can obtain advice from the Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombud, or from Balansekunst's advisory hotline.
Steatornis will ensure that everyone involved in the whistleblowing case receives good follow-up.
For example, the whistleblowing officer can assist in getting in touch with mental health care if necessary.
If the whistleblowing officer believes that the incident is so serious that it is a violation of the Penal Code, Steatornis shall, in consultation with the victim, consider reporting the matter to the police.
Whistleblower decides the way to report. Notification can, for example, take place verbally, via e-mail, phone, text message or other digital solutions.
The method of contact should not be an obstacle to whistleblowing, so it is important that the solution is universally designed and easily accessible to everyone.
All cases that are handed over to the whistleblowing officer are subject to a duty to act.
The duty to act entails following up the case in accordance with the notification procedures.
In addition, everyone who receives a whistleblowing case has a duty to inform the whistleblowing officer.
Everyone involved in whistleblowing cases will receive follow-up.
In all cases, the whistleblowing officer shall make a follow-up plan for victims and accused.
The whistleblowing officer shall ensure that the plan is implemented adequately.
In conversation with those involved, the whistleblowing officer shall discuss whether changes in the form of cooperation are necessary for the plan to be effective.
The whistleblowing officer shall assess whether the applicable guidelines can be changed or strengthened to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The whistleblowing officer writes a final report.
Exclusion takes place in accordance with section [§7 (Exclusion clause)](/statute#7exclusion clause) of the statute.
In whistleblowing cases where one or more people involved are from a partner organisation, sanctions shall be decided jointly.
