Supporting Staff with a Media Presence Policy and Procedure

Purpose

The University is committed to communicating research and recognises that staff with academic or professional public profiles may participate in ongoing public discussion and debate.

This Policy confirms the University’s commitment to:

• creating an environment in which no form of harassment is tolerated,
• reducing the likelihood of harassment occurring, and
• supporting staff who experience harassment because of their academic or professional media or social media presence.

This Procedure establishes the roles and responsibilities of staff who respond to reports or perceived risk of harassment, and the support options available to staff experiencing harassment.

Organisational scope

This Policy applies to all staff of the University.

Definitions

Harassment

Unwelcome behaviour or statements which are severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would consider them to be intimidating, hostile, or abusive. For the purposes of this policy, this definition includes unwelcome behaviour or statements directed orally, in writing, or by other means, including through media and social media.

Harassment Response Team

A team of relevant University staff responsible for resources or actions to anticipate, avoid, or respond to harassment incidents.

Content

1. Context

   1. This Policy and Procedure is to be read in conjunction with relevant strategic documents and frameworks, including:
      1. Vision 2040 (PDF)
      2. Pae Tata | Strategic Plan to 2030 (PDF)
      3. Māori Strategic Framework 2030
      4. Pacific Strategic Framework 2022–2030 (PDF)
      5. Equity and Diversity Strategic Framework
   2. The University is committed to effectively communicating our research, a priority under Pae Tata (PDF), and to supporting its staff to participate in ongoing public discussion and debate in their academic or professional roles.
   3. The University operates in the public domain, and many of its staff have visible media presences which may involve ongoing discussion and debate. Consistent with the guiding principle of academic freedom in the Education and Training Act 2020 and the University’s Statement on Free Speech, informed and reasoned debate is welcomed.
   4. Conduct by members of the University community is covered by the Ethical Behaviour Policy and/or Student Conduct Statute 2021. This Policy only covers harassment directed at University staff either:
      1. When the source is not a member of the University community, or
      2. When the source is anonymised or otherwise unidentifiable

2. Overview

   1. In general, the benefits of external communications outweigh the risks. Benefits of research communication may include, but are not limited to:
      1. Disseminating and translating academic work into policy and practice
      2. Supporting investment in areas of concern
      3. Supporting development of individual staff’s communication skills
      4. Enhancing personal development, confidence, and career satisfaction
      5. Expressing solidarity with the or a wider research community
   2. The University is committed to providing a safe and healthy work environment free from harassment. This Policy outlines the University’s stance against harassment from members of the public or organisations, which staff may experience when their work is in the public domain. This work includes, but is not limited to:
      1. Appearing in the media
      2. Participating in social media
      3. Communicating in the public arena
      4. Participating in government, parliamentary or other public processes
      5. Being identified in University publications, including our website
      6. Being identified in external publications

3. Forms of harassment

   1. Harassment within the scope of this Policy includes, but is not limited to:
      1. Personal safety threats or intimidation directed at you, other staff, whanau, or associates
      2. Attempted identity theft
      3. Disclosure of sensitive personal information
      4. Racism
      5. Sexism
      6. Homophobia
      7. Transphobia
      8. Ableism
      9. Other content deemed discriminatory under the Human Rights Act 1993
      10. Incitement or encouragement of other persons to cause harm
      11. Content indicating serious and harmful misrepresentation
      12. Grossly offensive or obscene content
   2. Further guidance for staff on forms of harassment is provided in section 10.

4. Non-retaliation

   1. The University prohibits retaliation against any individual who reports harassment under this Policy and Procedure, by any staff member senior to the staff member who reported the harassment.

5. Anticipating and avoiding harassment

   1. The Director of Communications and the Chief Digital Officer, or their respective delegates, will proactively scan University publications, public announcements and social media, and all monitored media, for risks of harassment arising from any University-related activity.
   2. The Director of Communications and the Chief Digital Officer, or their respective delegates, will notify the Convener of the Harassment Response Team of any identified risks of harassment. The Convener will determine:
      1. Whether it is necessary for any staff member/s to be notified,
      2. Whether it is necessary for any Harassment Response Team members to be notified,
      3. Whether to convene the Harassment Response Team, or
      4. Whether to take any other action as appropriate
   3. The Director of Communications will ensure training is available on methods to avoid harassment for staff engaging with media, including social media, and who may be at risk of harassment.
   4. The Director, Human Resources and Director, Health, Safety and Wellbeing will ensure relevant tools and resources are available to staff engaging with media or social media, and who may be at risk of harassment.
   5. Staff are encouraged to proactively seek the training and tools described above. Staff are also encouraged to contact the Harassment Response Team ahead of time if they believe there is imminent likelihood of harassment.

6. Harassment Response Team

   1. The Harassment Response Team shall normally comprise:
      1. The Director, Human Resources or their delegate (Convener)
      2. The head of Organisational Development
      3. The Director of Communications or their delegate
      4. The Director Student Services and/or the Proctor
   2. Other relevant staff may be co-opted as required based on the circumstances of any harassment incident, including to ensure a culturally safe and appropriate response.

7. Reporting harassment

   1. Harassment or perceived risk of harassment can be reported to:
      1. Police, if an immediate threat to personal safety is believed to exist
      2. The Proctor
      3. A staff member’s Manager or Academic Head
      4. The Director, Human Resources
      5. harassment@otago.ac.nz, an email address actively monitored by the Vice-Chancellor’s Office and by Human Resources
   2. Nothing in this Policy prevents staff from contacting Police directly at any time, and if staff feel personally in danger, they should contact the Police or Campus Watch immediately.
   3. Guidance for staff to undertake assessment of harassment risk level and appropriate reporting mechanisms is provided in section 10.
   4. If in doubt, staff are encouraged to report any potential harassment or perceived risks of harassment.
   5. With the consent of the affected staff member, all reported harassment incidents will be notified to the Director, Human Resources as the Convener of the Harassment Response Team.
   6. Harassment incident reports, statistics and trends will be regularly reported to the Senior Leadership Team.

8. Responding to harassment

   1. The Convener of the Harassment Response Team will respond to notified harassment incidents in a coordinated manner commensurate with risk level as described in section 10.
   2. When notified of a harassment incident, the Convener of the Harassment Response Team will consult the staff reporting the harassment and:
      1. Will determine and coordinate any immediate staff support required
      2. May convene the Harassment Response Team in full or in part
      3. May engage with other bodies, where relevant, to ensure a culturally appropriate handling of the incident
      4. Will conduct a risk assessment as soon as practicable, which may require liaison with relevant communications, digital, legal, mental health or security services staff
      5. May determine any other action required, in collaboration with other staff consulted under 8.b.ii., 8.b.iii., 8.b.iv., as appropriate
      6. May determine a further University response to the incident
   3. A risk assessment under 8.b.iv. above may give rise to a risk control plan. The range of actions which may be considered includes, but may not be limited to:
      1. Recording the harassment and any written content, or recollected oral content
      2. Attempting to identify the source of the unwanted contact
      3. Sending a cease-and-desist notice to the source of the unwanted contact, if identified
      4. In the case of harassment by email, arranging for the person sending unwanted emails to be added to the harassment redirection list and/or requesting ITS to block their email account
      5. Identifying if anyone else has been affected and/or contacted (e.g., a research collaborator) and actively engage with them
      6. Advising on personal and household security options
      7. Connecting with the wider Health, Safety and Wellbeing Team, Occupational Health Team, and/or Proctor’s Office as appropriate
      8. Contacting Police
   4. If Police become involved as part of a response to a harassment incident, the Convener of the Harassment Response Team or their delegate will represent the University contact.

9. Confidentiality

   1. Staff information will be disclosed only in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, the Health Information Privacy Code and the University’s Privacy Policy.
   2. The University will respect the confidentiality of all parties involved in a harassment incident to the extent possible to undertake a thorough investigation and protect the health and safety of staff.

10. Policy and Procedure – Forms of harassment, risk assessment and reporting guidance for staff

‘Content’ includes emails, social media posts and comments, whether as text or images, and any messages via any platform including voice recordings.

For guidance only – if in doubt, escalated reporting is encouraged.

Related policies, procedures and forms

• Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Statement on Free Speech
• Policy for Managing News Media Enquiries
• Social Media Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Ethical Behaviour Policy
• Student Charter
• Student Conduct Statute 2021

Contact for further information

Staff experiencing harassment due to their media presence can report harassment incidents at any time. This email address is actively monitored.

Email harassment@otago.ac.nz