FAQ Central Contact and Information Point for Social Safety

Undesirable behaviour refers to unequal treatment, (sexual) harassment or stalking, aggression, bullying and discrimination.

This is important because the University of Groningen aims to offer a study and work environment where everyone feels respected and safe. By contacting the Contact and Information Point, you can contribute to this. Your report or concern will give us a better understanding of undesirable behaviour, enabling us to take action to prevent it from happening again.

• You raise a concern if you have heard about or have seen situations in the study or working environment that (may) lead to undesirable behaviour. 

• Making a report means that you speak out specifically and directly about undesirable behaviour that you have witnessed or experienced yourself in the study or working environment.

• Filing a complaint means that you are invoking the formal complaints procedure. If you need help submitting your complaint please contact the Confidential Advisor.

The Contact and Information Point can provide advice on what you can do in your situation.

If you have experienced undesirable behavior outside the university, you can turn to Groningen City Centre Police Station, the Centre for Sexual Violence, Victim Support, confidential advisors of the student associations, or the ACII (for undesirable behavior during the introduction period of within student organisations).

If undesirable behavior outside the University affects your work or studies, you can turn to your supervisor or HR adviser, or to your lecturer, mentor, academic adviser, or student counsellor.

You cannot contact us with questions, complaints or dissatisfaction about general topics such as study matters, work assessments, financial arrangements, salaries or housing. As an employee, you can contact your manager or HR advisor for this. As a student, you can contact the study advisor or the Central Office for Legal Protection of Students (CLRS). The Contact and Information Point for Social Safety is also not intended for (urgent) medical or psychological assistance requests.

All contact is always confidential. This means that only the coordinators have access to the web forms, the associated personal data and email correspondence.

Only if it is necessary to provide you with the best possible support will the coordinators discuss your report with experts within the UG, preferably whilst maintaining your anonymity for as long as possible. They do so with integrity and care.

In that case, do not enter your name or contact details on the web form. You will then not receive a confirmation of receipt or an evaluation form. It does, however, usually mean that the UG will not be able to take any active measures in response to your report or notification.

Yes, that is always necessary. By using a single point of entry to the reporting and information centre, the coordinators can maintain an overview and ensure that no reports or concerns are overlooked.

In order to refer you appropriately, we almost always need to ask a few follow-up questions, for example regarding what you hope to achieve with your report or concern.

We ask you to describe briefly and specifically on the online form what undesirable behaviour you have witnessed or experienced, in what situation, where and when

Yes, that is possible.

Yes, you can. You’ll find more information on our webpage, including details on accessing urgent help.

Please check our webpage to see what you can do. If you do fill in the online form for urgent help, please bear in mind that it may take up to five working days to receive a response.

Yes, you can, but you can also make use of the whistleblower scheme straight away.

No, we cannot do that. You must file the report yourself. For advice/guidance on this, we refer you to, for example, the Centre for Sexual Violence.

Yes, you can. We can help you decide who would be the best person to refer you to in this situation.

Two weeks after you have been in contact with the coordinators, you will receive an evaluation form by email (unless you have indicated that you wish to remain anonymous). On that form, we ask how you found your contact with the reporting and information centre and whether the referral led to a satisfactory outcome for you.

You will arrange the details of any feedback yourself with the person to whom you were referred.

Yes, even as a defendant, you can contact us so that we can help you identify who you can turn to for support. Depending on your situation, this might be, for example, an internal officer, a local or central confidential adviser, or the ombudsperson. They can explain how the investigation into the situation will be conducted. The principle of hearing both sides of the story is always a key consideration in this process.