During the autumn, employees, students and doctoral students have been interviewed about their experiences of sexual harassment at Lund University. These individual interviews will continue during November and December, when we also invite employees, students and doctoral students to participate in focus group discussions on sexual harassment.

The focus group discussions are open to anyone who is working or studying at Lund University. You do not need to have personal experiences of harassment in order to participate. The discussions will cover how the participants perceive structures and norms at the university, in relation to sexual harassment, and hopefully lead to concrete suggestions of how the preventative work against sexual harassment could be improved.

An invitation with more information will be sent out via email next week. If you have questions or want to find out more about the focus group study, you are welcome to email us at tellus.fokusgrupp@lu.se.

It’s still possible to sign up for the individual interview study. Send an email tellus.intervju@lu.se if you are interested. Include your name (voluntary) and email address and we will get back to you with more information.

The three-year Tellus project, with the purpose of reinforcing the university’s preventative work against sexual harassment at Lund University, has launched the invitation for an interview study and interviews will start within the next few days.

In order for this important work to become as successful as possible, it’s vital to use employees’, doctoral students’ and students’ experiences of sexual harassment as a starting point. This is why the first part of the project is focused on creating a knowledge base by listening.

Last week, an invitation was sent out to employees and doctoral students at all faculties at Lund University. The same invitation will soon be sent out to all the students. This is an invitation for everyone who would consider participating in an interview about their experiences of sexual harassment. We are looking for persons who have either witnessed sexual harassment, been exposed to sexual harassment, exposed someone else to sexual harassment or behaved in a manner that felt inappropriate afterwards. We are also interested in how employees and students have experienced support, counselling and measures when harassments have occurred. The interviews will be analyzed anonymously.

In parallel with the interviews, a number of focus groups will be conducted during the autumn in order to contribute to the projects’ knowledge base. Everyone is welcome to join these focus groups – including those without personal experience of harassment. These discussions will focus on themes like perception of sexual harassments, climate of dialogue, norms and power structures. The results of the interviews and focus groups will then form the base of a survey that will be sent out to all employees, doctoral students and students in February.

Our goal is for this work to contribute to a better work and study environment, free from sexual harassment, for everyone at Lund University. Your story and/or participation in the focus groups is an important part of this goal, and we look forward to meeting you.

This blog will update you regularly with the latest news, video clips and other content related to sexual harassment as the Tellus project continues. Watch this space!

Tellus is a three-year research-based project aimed at reinforcing the preventive work against sexual harassment at Lund University. The project, initiated by vice-chancellor Torbjörn von Schantz, will contribute to a safe study and work environment for all students and staff at the University.

The project in brief
The project’s aim is to develop and strengthen preventive work against sexual harassment at Lund University.  In order to achieve this goal, these efforts will be informed by obtaining comprehensive up-to-date knowledge concerning actual needs. Therefore, one of the main aspects of the project is to listen – to employees and to students at all levels, both undergraduate and doctoral students. The name of the project, Tellus, refers specifically to this.

During May 2018 (preliminary timeline) the project will begin conducting individual interviews and focus group discussions. These will form the basis for the development of a university-wide survey targeting employees and students at all levels, which will be carried out during the period November 2018 – January 2019 (preliminary timeline). The results will be used as a basis for proposed measures, which will be implemented and followed up in the next stage.

Professor Anette Agardh is the project manager.  The project team includes researchers in the fields of law, work environment, sexual health. and psychology. Read more about the project team.

Support group
In May, in conjunction with the start of the interview process, the establishment of a support group will be initiated to which you, as a student, doctoral student or employee, can turn if you have been subjected to or witnessed sexual harassment, or if you have other related questions. This support group is a complement to the university’s existing support. The contact details for the group will be published on the project website.

Contact us
You are welcome to contact us directly if you have experiences or thoughts that you would like to share with the project team. You can find our contact details in the menu on the right-hand side.