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Bullying and harassment

Bullying

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power, position or knowledge. Bullying can be physical, verbal and non-verbal (including through social media).

Examples of bullying:

• shouting at someone
• being sarcastic
• ridiculing or demeaning others
• deliberately excluding or ignoring an individual
• physical or psychological threats
• unfair blaming for mistakes.

Harassment

Harassment is unwanted behaviour which violates a person’s dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Harassment can be physical, verbal and non-verbal (including social media).

Harassment is against the law when it occurs because of a person’s age, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation.

Examples of harassment:

• unwanted physical conduct including invading personal space and more serious forms of physical or sexual assault
• offensive or intimidating comments or gestures, insensitive jokes or pranks
• mocking a person’s disability
• racist, sexist, homophobic or ageist jokes
• derogatory or stereotypical remarks about an ethnic or religious group or gender
• outing or threatening to out someone as gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans
• ignoring or shunning someone.
• microaggressions, defined as: "Brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial, gender, sexual orientation, and religious slights and insults to the target person or group." (D.W. Sue 2010)

Our has information about the systems in place for students to resolve and report issues while at Brighton.

External specialist support services

National organisation that provides resources and digital one-to-one support for young people who have concerns about bullying or related issues.

Provides information and advice for anyone dealing with bullying.

Online harassment

Online harassment is defined as ‘the use of information and communication technologies by an individual or group to repeatedly cause harm to another person with relatively less power to defend themselves.’

Examples of online harassment:

• Cyberstalking – repeated and deliberate use of the internet and other electronic communication tools to engage in persistent, unwanted communication intended to frighten, intimidate or harass someone, or to spy on someone. (See ‘Domestic abuse and stalking’ for further information about stalking).
• Denigration – sending or posting harmful, untrue or cruel statements about a person to other people.
• Doxxing – sharing someone else’s personal information without their permission.
• Exclusion - purposeful isolation of individuals from online communications with others in a network.
• Internet pile-on -where large numbers of people are encouraged to target one individual with numerous messages.
• Intimate image abuse - sharing, taking or threatening to share private sexual images without consent. Intimate image abuse can also be referred to as 'revenge porn', non-consensual pornography or image-based sexual abuse. Includes sextortion and upskirting. See ‘Intimate image abuse’ for further information.
• Masquerading – pretending to be someone else online.
• Trickery - engaging in tricks to solicit personal information that is then made public, often to blackmail the individual.
• Trolling - sending or posting deliberately inflammatory, inappropriate or controversial messages or comments on the internet in order to upset and provoke responses from other internet users.
• Virtual mobbing - where a person tries to attract attention to someone else by getting other people to bully a person for example by using hashtags to encourage other people to join in.

Our (pdf) provides further information, help and support for students including recommended contacts for specialist support services.

External specialist support services

National helpline supporting adults (those over the age of 18) who are victims of image-based sexual abuse.

Advice and advocacy for stalking, including cyber-stalking, victims in Sussex.

Practical and emotional support for people who have been affected by crime, including online harassment, in Sussex.

National organisation providing information and advice on online safety 

Discrimination

Discrimination looks different for different people and can make you feel excluded or ‘other’. Unlawful discrimination is when an individual or group of people is treated less favourably than others based on their age, disability, gender, gender identity, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

Types of discrimination:

Direct discrimination occurs when someone is treated less favourably than another person because of a protected characteristic they have or are thought to have, or because they associate with someone who has a protected characteristic.

Indirect discrimination can happen when there is a condition, rule, policy or practice that applies to everyone but particularly disadvantages people who share a specific protected characteristic. However, it isn’t classed as indirect discrimination if it can be shown that the condition, rule, policy or practice is reasonable.

External specialist support services

Helpline for people who think they may have experienced discrimination.

Domestic abuse and stalking

Domestic (dating / intimate partner / family) abuse

Domestic abuse is patterned, repeated behaviour intended to assert power and control, by a partner, ex-partner or family member.

Examples of domestic abuse:

• coercive control (a pattern of intimidation, degradation, isolation and control with the use or threat of physical or sexual violence)
• psychological and/or emotional abuse
• physical abuse
• sexual abuse
• financial abuse
• harassment
• online or digital abuse
• female genital mutilation
• ‘honour' based abuse, including forced marriage

Stalking

Stalking is a pattern of repeated and persistent unwanted behaviour that is intrusive and engenders fear. It is when one person becomes fixated or obsessed with another and the attention is unwanted. Threats may not be made but victims may feel scared. Even if there is no threat this is till stalking and it is a crime.

Social media and the internet are often used for stalking, and ‘cyberstalking’ or online threats can be just as intimidating as other forms of stalking.

See ‘Online harassment’ and 'Intimate image abuse' for further information about cyberstalking and other forms of online harassment.

External specialist support services

Independent information, advice, support and advocacy support for victims and survivors of domestic abuse in the city.

Helpline, drop-ins, support groups and counselling for women, children, young people and LGBT people in Brighton and Hove and West Sussex affected by domestic abuse.

Information, advocacy and practical and emotional support to women, men and children living with domestic abuse and violence in the East Sussex area.

Advice and advocacy for stalking victims in Sussex.

Support for women of colour who have experienced gender-based violence.

UK Helpline for ‘honour’-based abuse and forced marriage.

Domestic Abuse service for LGBTQ people affected by domestic abuse. Provides support to survivors through their Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) service.

Confidential helpline for male victims of domestic abuse and domestic violence across the UK as well as their friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues and employers.

National support service for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Freephone 24/7 National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247.

National helpline providing information and guidance to anybody in the UK who is currently or has previously been affected by harassment or stalking. 0808 802 0300 (09:30 - 20:00, Monday and Wednesday; 09:30 - 16:00, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)

Hate incidents and hate crime

Hate incidents

Hate incidents are acts of hostility or violence motivated by prejudice based on disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Examples of hate incidents:

• abusive phone calls
• graffiti
• abuse through social media
• intimidation
• threats of violence and verbal abuse.

Hate crime

When hate incidents break the law, they are known as hate crimes.

Examples of hate crime:

• assault
• criminal damage
• hate mail
• sexual assault
• theft.

External specialist support services

National organisation that provides information about hate crime or incidents and advice on how to report it.

You can report a hate crime/incident to Sussex Police by contacting them on 101 or completing a quick and simple online form on their website.

East Sussex Safer Communities Partnership
If you live in Eastbourne or Hastings and Rother you can make a third party report of a hate crime/incident to your local Citizens Advice Bureau which would result in the incident being recorded but not investigated any further.

Third-party hate incident reporting centre for hate incidents and hate crime based on prejudice towards someone because of their sexual orientation and/or transgender identity.

Third-party hate incident reporting centre for hate incidents and hate crime based on prejudice towards someone because of their ethnicity, race, faith and/or religion.

Third-party hate incident reporting centre for hate incidents and hate crime based on prejudice towards someone because of their disability.

Intimate image abuse

Intimate image abuse includes the criminal acts of sharing, taking or threatening to share private sexual images without consent. Intimate image abuse can also be referred to as 'revenge porn', non-consensual pornography or image-based sexual abuse.

It is a criminal offence to disclose, or threaten to disclose, a private sexual image without consent with the intention of causing distress. Voyeurism (recording a sexual image without knowledge for the purpose of sexual gratification) is a sexual offence.

Intimate image abuse can be committed by anyone and anyone can be a victim. If you have been a victim, please remember this isn’t your fault and you haven’t done anything wrong.

Intimate image abuse can take various forms, including:

Sharing of intimate images without consent (‘revenge porn’)

Intimate image abuse refers to the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and videos with the intent to cause distress. This is sometimes referred to as 'revenge porn' or 'image-based abuse'. This content can be shared in a multitude of ways including, in-person, through texts, emails and messages, on social media platforms, porn sites and in group chats.

In April 2015, the Criminal Justice and Courts Act made it, 'an offence for a person to disclose a private sexual photograph or film if the disclosure is made without the consent of an individual who appears in the photograph or film, and with the intention of causing that individual distress'.

Threats to share intimate images without consent

This refers to an implicit or explicit threat by a known person (for example, an ex-partner or family member) to share an individual’s intimate or sexually explicit material without their consent. The perpetrator makes the threats to cause distress to the individual.

Threats to share intimate images with the intent to cause distress is now an offence in UK law. This is included within the Domestic Abuse bill. This was enacted into UK law on 29 June 2021, if the threat happened before this date, it may not be included.

For further information about domestic abuse, see ‘Domestic abuse and stalking’.

Sextortion and webcam blackmail

Sextortion, also known as ‘webcam blackmail’, is when intimate images and videos are recorded and used for financial exploitation and coercion. The majority of cases involve individuals meeting via social media or dating websites and forming a relationship through conversation. The blackmailer often assumes the identity of a stereotypically attractive man or woman who, after gaining the victim's trust, will quickly persuade them into sending intimate images or videos or will record sexual content without the victim’s knowledge or consent. The images and videos will then be used to blackmail them for money or further sexual content. Sextortion can be committed by an individual or by organised criminal gangs overseas.

Voyeurism and upskirting

In the UK, it is against the law to record a private or sexual image or video of someone without their knowledge or consent for sexual gratification. This is classed as voyeurism and is covered under Section 67 of the Sexual Offences Act (2003).

In 2019, upskirting was included in a subsection of voyeurism within the Sexual Offences Act. Upskirting involves filming or photographing under a person’s clothes without their consent to capture images of their body or underwear. The law requires that there is an intention on the part of the perpetrator to either: obtain sexual gratification, or cause humiliation, alarm or distress to the victim.

Our provides further information, help and support for students including recommended contacts for specialist support services.

External specialist support services

0345 6000 459
National helpline supporting adults (those over the age of 18) who are victims of intimate image abuse

Practical and emotional support for people who have been affected by crime, including intimate image abuse, in Sussex.

National organisation providing information and advice on online safety.

A free tool designed to support victims of Non-Consensual Intimate Image (NCII) abuse. The tool works by generating a hash from your intimate image(s)/video(s).

Physical assault

Physical assault is when an individual or a group attacks a person physically, with or without the use of a weapon, or threatens to hurt that person. It can include scratching, pushing, kicking, punching, throwing things, using weapons or physically restraining another person.

Physical assault can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, age or any other characteristic. However, if the assault was motivated by hostility towards a person or group due to a protected characteristic, that is considered a hate crime. Physical assault within relationships, or between family members is classified as domestic violence.

External specialist support services

If you are in immediate danger or seriously injured call 999 (or 112 from a mobile).

If you are on university premises, you should also call the university emergency number 01273 642222 to inform site staff.

You can also report a crime to Sussex Police using the non-emergency number, 101, or by completing a quick and simple online form on their website.

Practical and emotional support for people who have been affected by crime, including physical assault, in Sussex.

Sexual violence

Sexual violence is any unwanted sexual comments and non-consensual sexual acts and activity.

Examples of sexual violence:

• sexual intercourse or engaging in a sexual act without consent
• attempting to engage in sexual intercourse or engaging in a sexual act without consent
• sharing private sexual materials of another person without consent
• kissing without consent
• touching inappropriately through clothes without consent
• inappropriately showing sexual organs to another person
• repeatedly following another person without good reason
• making unwanted remarks of a sexual nature.

Understanding consent

A person consents to sex if that person 'agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice'. A person can also consent to one form of sexual activity but not to another, and they have the right to say no at any time.

The law clearly states that having any kind of sex without getting consent is illegal, and sexual activity without consent is rape or sexual assault. It is also a crime to target people who are under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Documents

Our (pdf) provides additional information, help and support for our students.

You can find our here.

External specialist support services

Advocacy, telephone helpline, counselling, drop-in and groups for survivors of sexual violence and abuse in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex.

Crisis support, forensic medical examination, and medical care for anyone in Sussex who has experienced sexual violence and/or sexual abuse.

Support for men affected by unwanted sexual experiences.

Support for women of colour who have experienced gender-based violence, including sexual violence

National organisation providing guidance and support for LGBTQ+ people who have experienced abuse and violence, including sexual violence.

A free 24/7 phone and online chat service for anyone aged 16+ in England and Wales who has been affected by rape, child sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment or any other form of sexual violence. 0808 500 2222

Spiking

‘Spiking’ is when someone puts alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink or their body without their knowledge and/or consent. Drink spiking is the most common form of spiking, however recently some people have reported being ‘spiked’ by needles/syringes containing drugs. 

The aim may be to incapacitate someone enough to rob or sexually assault them, or it may be intended as just a ‘prank’ or ‘joke’. Whatever the motive, spiking is never funny. It can make a person extremely vulnerable and ill and have a lasting impact on their life and wellbeing.

Spiking is a criminal offence. Slipping alcohol or drugs into someone’s drink is against the law, even if the drink is not consumed or the person is not harmed. The same would be true of needle spiking which would also be a physical assault. 

If you have been spiked, the Disclosure Response Team is here to support you. You can also find useful information and guidance in the following links.

External specialist support services

On Friday and Saturday nights, Safe Space provides support to anyone who has become intoxicated, distressed, or injured during their night out.

You can report spiking to Sussex Police by contacting them on 101 or completing a quick and simple online form on their website.

Guidance on what to do if you think you’ve been spiked, as well as tips to stay safe.

Practical and emotional support for people who have been affected by crime, including spiking, in Sussex.