If you've witnessed or experienced something that has made you feel uncomfortable, unsafe or you believe to be against the Guild values, there are processes in place to make sure this is properly investigated and escalated where necessary.
At UCB Guild of Students, we take your experiences seriously and believe strongly in the equalilty and dignity of all of our students and staff.
I've witnessed or experienced something that's made me uncomfortable at a society event...
If you've witnessed or experienced something at a society event that makes you uncomfortable, you should always report it.
Step 1: Report the incident to your society leader
In the first instance, all reports and concerns should be flagged with your society leader. They will then escalate the incident through the appropriate channels.
If, for whatever reason, you are unable to report the incident to your society leader, please complete step 2.
Step 2: Report the incident to your lead Officer
Each society is assigned a lead officer. You can find out who yours is here. You should flag your concerns with this officer, who will then escalate the incident through the apporpriate channels.
Step 3: Submit a Complaint
The lead officer may encourage you to submit a complaint via the Guild website. This complaint will be assigned a lead investigator and dealt with accordingly.
If you're a Society Leader...
The information and process for dealing with complaints is in your society constitution. In the first instance, society members or other staff/students should raise complaints to you directly.
This might include:
- Safety of activities
- Poor standards of instruction or leadership
- The standard of equipment used for activities
- Poor society administration
- The lack of suitable activities for their level of participation
- Disregard for the UCB Guild Equal Opportunities Policy, or other Guild policies
Step 1: Resolve the complaint informally
Whenever possible, you should attempt to resolve any complaints informally. This could simply be a conversation with a society member about their behaviour or a change in your events/activities.
Step 2: Report the incident to your lead Officer
Each society has an Officer lead and if you have been unable to resovle a complaint informally, you should raise it with them for support. They will reply within 10 working days to support.
Step 3: Submit a Complaint
If you have still been unable to resolve the issue, you should submit a complaint via the Guild website. This complaint will be assigned a lead investigator and dealt with accordingly.
I'm not sure what I can and can't report. What type of thing can I report?
If something has made you feel uncomfortable, then you should always report it. This could be anything from being made to feel left out of a society event, being pressured to do something you don't want to do or witnessing discrimination.
Here's some theoretical scenarios:
Scenario #1
You're at Walkabout on a Wednesday and other members of your society are calling you names because you don't want another drink.
Scenario #2
You've gone to a society event but there's no halal food available so you are unable to eat.
Scenario #3
You notice one of the new members of your society isn't being included in any of the activities at an event and the committee are ignoring them.
Scenario #4
A member of another society wolf whistles at you while you're walking past them.