Gender-based harassment
Gender-based harassment constitutes discrimination and is not only highly unwelcome at the mdw, but also illegal!
What is gender-based harassment?
Gender-based harassment occurs when gender-based behaviour is exhibited which injures a person’s dignity or is aimed at doing so, and which is regarded as unwanted, inappropriate, degrading, insulting or offensive by the person concerned.
Gender-based harassment can, for example, manifest in the following types of behaviour:
- Verbal remarks or gestures to or about a person, or a group of people, based on stereotypical assumptions about genders, e.g. regarding their abilities, their clothing, their appearance or their behaviour
- Allocation of work tasks based on gender stereotypes, e.g. the allocation of reproductive work to female staff
- Making “jokes” that are hostile towards women or men, or towards homosexual, bisexual, transgender or intersex people in classes or in the workplace
- Creating, distributing or displaying texts or pictures that are gender-stereotypical, or hostile towards women or men, or towards homosexual, bisexual, transgender or intersex people
- Intrusive, unwanted questions about marital status and family planning
- Objectionable, degrading remarks, insults and pretended “jokes” relating to marital status, family planning and/or family-career compatibility
You can find further specific elements of the offence of gender-based harassment of intersex, transgender and non-binary people here.
Gender-based harassment can never have a basis in the specifics of a course or work at the mdw!
Please contact the Working Group on Equal Opportunities (AKG) if you are being harassed based on your gender: we will help you!
If you witness harassment, don’t look away! Support the victims and refer them to the AKG.
We take rapid, discreet action!