What is discrimination and how to combat it?

Discrimination is a situation in which a person, due to gender, race, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, denomination, worldview, disability, age or sexual orientation, is treated less favourably, unfairly or biased than another person would be treated in a comparable situation.

Discrimination is a form of unjustified and stereotype-based marginalisation of certain social groups that share a common feature.

The Constitution of the Republic of Poland, Article 32 states that everyone is equal before the law and everyone has the right to equal treatment by public authorities (section 1). No one may be discriminated against in political, social or economic life for any reason.

Discriminatory behaviour may be diverse – it may manifest itself both in a specific action/behaviour towards a given person, as well as in sentences, jokes and gestures formulated towards that person.

Unequal and worse treatment of others with the above-described personal characteristics most often results from numerous harmful prejudices and stereotypes. Stereotype is the use of simplified patterns and established ideas that people use to evaluate and categorise others (usually negatively). Relying on stereotypes is often the beginning of the development of discriminatory and harmful attitudes in society. 

• Direct discrimination – occurs when a person is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation, based on an objective criterion or characteristic (because of their gender, age, disability, race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, trade union membership, ethnic origin, denomination, sexual orientation, employment for a fixed or indefinite period, full-time or part-time employment, etc.)
• Indirect discrimination occurs when an apparently neutral, non-differentiating criterion puts a person or group at a disadvantage compared to others due to an objective criterion (e.g. gender, age, sexual orientation, etc.).
• Harassment – unwanted conduct the purpose or effect of which is to violate the dignity of a natural person and to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person. A violation of dignity may be the result of various types of behaviour expressed in gestures, words, statements, images that insult or harass a given person or harass them in any other way.
• Sexual harassment – unwanted conduct of a sexual nature relating to sex, the purpose or effect of which is to violate the dignity of a person, in particular to create an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them; such conduct may consist of physical, verbal or non-verbal elements.
• Encouraging discrimination – encouraging others to violate the principle of equal treatment or ordering them to do so. Therefore, it is unlawful to simply encourage someone to behave in a way that discriminates against others.
• Hate speech – a phenomenon that involves using language to incite, spread or justify hatred and discrimination, as well as violence against specific individuals, groups of people, representatives of minorities or any other entity that is the "target" of a given statement.

If you believe you have experienced discrimination (including harassment, sexual harassment) or unequal treatment, you can file for corrective action.

WHO CAN REPORT A CASE?

• persons belonging to the academic community of the University of Lodz, other than employees;
• employees of the University of Lodz, including those working on a basis other than an employment contract. 

The person about whom the report is made must be an employee, doctoral student or student of the University of Lodz, or another employee of the University of Lodz, and the event must take place on the premises of the University or be functionally related to its activities.

HOW TO REPORT A CASE?

You can report the case directly to

• Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Mobbing and Other Undesirable Behaviours Coordinator,
• Ombudsman for Academic Rights
• Spokespersons of the Explanatory and Disciplinary Proceedings Section.

or click the REPORT A CASE button, fill in the form and send it to: razem@uni.lodz.pl

The proceedings in the case are conducted on the basis of the applicable Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Mobbing Procedure, which is a part of broader solutions adopted at the University of Lodz to counteract discrimination, mobbing and other undesirable behaviours. The corrective procedure specifies the principles underpinning preventive and intervention measures to offset the effects of: identified cases of violence in the work and study environment, discrimination, mobbing and other undesirable behaviours, as well as legal consequences for persons violating the regulations.

Corrective procedure conducted by the Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Mobbing and Other Undesirable Behaviours Coordinator

• Reporting a case to the Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Mobbing and Other Undesirable Behaviours Coordinator. 
• The Coordinator will decide within 14 days whether the report is justified or not. The Coordinator may return the case due to formal deficiencies in the application form.
• If the Coordinator confirms that there are signs of discrimination or unequal treatment, the report will be processed in the following order of actions:
  • Meeting with the affected person(s) and initially investigating the case. Listening, providing support or consultation – outlining possible solutions to the problem, including assistance in naming and diagnosing potential violations in the legal and psychological context and presenting relevant information, rules and legal regulations in force at the University of Lodz.
  • Intervening in the case, e.g. by talking to the potential violator or (subsequently) their superiors. The purpose of the conversation is to inform the party about the irregularities and to call for an end to the violations.
  • If the parties agree to mediation, the case will be referred to a selected mediator for resolution through mediation. 
  • If the parties do not agree to mediation, the case will be referred to the Commission for Combating Discrimination and Other Undesirable Behaviours or the Anti-Mobbing Commission, in accordance with its subject matter jurisdiction.
     

While considering the application, the Coordinator may:

• in the event of significant formal deficiencies in the notification, call the applicant to supplement them within 7 days counted from the date on which the person could have become acquainted with such a call, and if the defects are not supplemented within this period, leave the application unprocessed;
• with the consent of both parties, refer the case to a mediator selected by the parties;
• if mediation is not agreed or no settlement is reached as a result of mediation, refer the matter to the Commission for Combating Discrimination and Other Undesirable Behaviours or to the Anti-Mobbing Commission;
• determine that the report clearly does not concern conduct that may constitute discrimination, mobbing or other undesirable conduct and leave the case without consideration (while informing the reporting person of this fact);
• conclude that the application relates to a matter which should be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure and refer the matter to the unit responsible for disciplinary matters at the University of Lodz.
• There is no right of appeal against a negative decision by the Coordinator.

You can contact the Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Mobbing and Other Undesirable Behaviours Coordinator in person, by e-mail or by phone. It is necessary to arrange a meeting in advance by e-mail or telephone.

Corrective procedure conducted by the Commission for Combating Discrimination and Other Undesirable Behaviours

Corrective procedure is initiated when the actions taken in the course of the proceedings conducted by the Coordinator do not bring results or when both parties do not consent to mediation. It includes the following activities:

• The Commission for Combating Discrimination and Other Undesirable Behaviours conducts an explanatory procedure based on the report submitted by the Anti-Discrimination, Anti-Mobbing and Other Undesirable Behaviours Coordinator.
• After conducting the procedure, the Commission issues an opinion on the existence of unequal treatment or discrimination and forwards it, together with the case documentation, to the Rector of the University of Lodz for information. The Commission’s opinion may also contain recommendations, e.g. to refer the case to the relevant disciplinary ombudsman.
• The procedure should be completed within two months of the appointment of the Commission (in justified circumstances this deadline may be extended).
• The Commission is authorised to recommend corrective actions related to the context of a given case, consisting in particular of:
  • transferring an employee to another position or to another organisational unit;
  • changing the class group – in the case of students; 
  • intensive periodic psychological support; 
  • forwarding the case for consideration in accordance with the competence of the bodies appointed within the structure of the University of Lodz to counteract and prevent the occurrence of undesirable behaviours in the academic environment (e.g. to the relevant disciplinary proceedings representative or conciliation commission – in accordance with the provisions of law). 
• The Commission's opinion is of advisory nature for the employer. The final decision in the cases being processed is made by the Rector of the University of Lodz.
• Documentation of an individual case, including minutes of the Commission meetings and interviews conducted, is not made available to the parties.
• The opinion of the Commission, together with any recommendations, is communicated to the parties. 

If, after reading the above procedure, you believe that you have experienced discrimination or unequal treatment, click REPORT A CASE button, fill in the form and send it to: razem@uni.lodz.pl