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Bullying and discrimination
The ANU Medical School should be a safe place for all students. If you experience offensive, intimidating or humiliating behaviour from a fellow student or staff member, please know that there is support in place to address this.
Reporting bullying and discrimination
Bullying can cover a range of behaviours, both subtle and overt. It is considered to be any repeated behaviour that is unreasonable and undesirable, and has the potential to cause harm to the person experiencing the behaviour.
Discrimination is different to bullying, but can intersect with it. Discrimination occurs when a person, or group of people are treated less favourably than another person or group on the basis of:
- Race.
- Gender.
- Sexuality.
- Gender identity.
- Intersex status.
- Ethnic or religious background.
- Disability.
- Disease.
- Age.
This list is not exhaustive, and discrimination can occur from less favourable treatment of a person or group based on a combination of these factors.
The key feature that distinguishes discrimination from bullying is that discrimination may occur as a single event.
Initial support
As a first priority, it is essential to get some support. Whether you've been the victim of bullying and/or discrimination or have been witness to it, find someone who you feel safe talking to - this might be close friends, family, or a member of the medical student society.
If you have been the victim of bullying and/or discrimination or have been a witness to it, please know that there are support structures in place for you to use:
- Contact:
- Your Year Coordinator.
- The ANU Dean of students.
- ANU counselling
- ANU Respectful Relationships Unit: respect@anu.edu.au
- Whoever you contact will get in touch and offer you support, and give you information about possible next steps.
- If you decide to pursue it, the ANU can assign an Independent investigator to investigate your report. Their findings will only be shared with the Director of the ANU Medical School and Dean of the College of Health and Medicine.
For urgent support:
- Beyond Blue Support Service
T 1300 224 636
E https://www.beyondblue.org.au/ - Lifeline Crisis Support and Suicide Prevention
T 13 11 14
E https://www.lifeline.org.au/
ANU Crisis Support Line
For urgent support outside of business hours (9am - 5pm), the ANU has a new crisis line service for both voice calls and texts.
The crisis line is there to help you find immediate relief from emotional distress, and crisis line counsellors can help you to safely manage the situation you're in and help with any next steps from there.
5pm-9am weekdays, 24/7 weekends and public holidays
Phone (voice calls only): 1300 050 327
SMS Text message service: 0488 884 170
The ANU Crisis Support Line is managed by the Division of Student Life and is a SSAF funded project
More information on the ANU Crisis Support Line can be found here.
More information
ANU Procedure and Policy
For more information on the definitions, policies and avenues for reporting bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination, you can refer to the ANU Medical School’s Bullying, Sexual Harassment and Discrimination reference booklet linked here. (Note that access to this document will require wattle login).
