Sexual Harassment Awareness Day

Sexual harassment in academia is a topic that is becoming more openly addressed, and institutions worldwide are being held accountable to actively pursue prevention and intervention.
This talk will look at problematic dynamics and contextual factors and show what opportunities ETH Zurich offers to support those affected by sexual harassment.

external page Register for the event. This event is held in English and is part of the Respect Programm of ETH Zurich.

Online Talk by Diversity and Collaboration, ETH Zürich:
Loren Schaad, Project Manager Diversity
Dr. Monika Keller, Coach Respect Office

As part of the project "P-7: Diversity, Inclusion and Equity in University Development", swissuniversities launched the external page national campaign for Sexual Harassment Awareness Day. The goal of this campaign (SH for short) is to preventively counteract sexual harassment and sexism. It is part of the efforts of Swiss universities to create and cultivate a culture in which there is no place for sexual harassment.

The department of Diversity and Cooperation acts as the coordinating point at ETH Zurich. Please contact diversity@ethz.ch with any questions about SH2024 or your participation.  

Sexual harassment is a reality within Swiss universities and research institutions. This is why ETH Zurich has been taking part in the SH every year since 2023 and works with other institutions to raise awareness of the issue. It is a day of knowledge and information transfer, exchange, activities, and clear statements of taking action against boundary crossing behavior together.

Everyone's participation is welcome and called for. There are many ways in which departments, students, staff, and associations can make a valuable contribution to promoting awareness of sexual harassment, e.g. by organizing workshops, talks, film screenings, or other ideas of their own.

If you have questions about the day, your contribution, or think about organizing something for the Sexual Harassment Awareness Day, contact us at diversity@ethz.ch.

Below you find expert videos and descriptions of past events as inspiration for your event at SH2024.

Further ideas are compiled on this external page digital pinboard. We invite all ETH members and especially units such as departments, diversity officers, and women's associations of the departments to use and promote the expertise and resources of our university and to help shape this day.

The respective organizational unit is responsible to request experts and cover the costs of the event. Please note that none of the persons or formats mentioned have been pre-informed by us, these are merely suggestions as to which experts could be relevant to discuss the topic with you.

Phi:male, external page #speakUpETH and the AG Chancengleichheit (VSETH) will be providing display walls around Sexual Harassment from 8:00 to 20:00 in the HG Brunnenhalle (between the fountain and the main hall). There is the possibility to read testimonials about Sexual Harassment at ETH and to write anonymously yourself. With stickers you can also anonymously answer different questions about Sexual Harassment at ETH.

The project team of the national campaign, together with representatives of the universities, will present the campaign and answer journalists' questions.

The media conference is for media representatives only. After registration with the national campaign (info@universities-against-harassment.ch), the link will be sent before the event.

Sexual harassment is a complex social problem. Sexual harassment is still often perceived simply as a “victim’s” issue but not only impacted people pay a high price for this toxic behavior. In this talk, Dr. Bettina Palazzo, expert in business ethics, showed how the true costs of sexual harassment affect everyone and institutions. Sexual harassment brings knowledge loss, legal costs, decline of employee motivation and bad employer image. But, the prevention of sexual harassment is also seen as an opportunity for positive change and a respectful workplace for all.

Dr. Léïla Eisner and Dr. Tabea Hässler from the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel extended the discussion on sexual harassment to those who are often forgotten: LGBTIQ+ persons, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, and men are also affected by sexual harassment but often go unmentioned. They also presented data from the Swiss LGBTIQ+ Panel on experiences with sexual harassment.

The talk was moderated by ETH Diversity. It was a joint event of the ETH Domain and the national Sexual Harassment Awareness Day Project Group.

This event was held online in English. external page Video and Slides

Talk with Stella Harper, co-founder and co-director of SpeakUpETH, and Lilian Fankhauser, co-director of the Office for Equal Opportunities and contact person for sexual harassment at the University of Bern.

This talk will be conducted online in German. external page Participation Link

Talk with Marijn van der Meer, founder of the campaign Paye ton EPFL, and Aurélie Nusbaum-de Francesco, Avocate de la gestion des conflits du travail, personne de confiance et médiatrice.

This talk will be conducted online in French. external page Participation Link

The workshop will focus on verbal and nonverbal everyday interactions. Situations will be discussed where minorities in academia, such as women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people of color, people with disabilities, etc, may be unconsciously marginalized. The goal of this workshop is to learn more about how to be welcoming and inclusive in your language and behavior when working with people from a variety of backgrounds, and how to better manage own experiences of exclusion and associated feelings. This event is a collaboration between WSL's D&I and ETH Diversity.

The workshop will take place at WSL in Birmensdorf (room details to follow). The number of participants is limited. ETH members please register by email to diversity@ethz.ch. Language (DE/EN) tbd

Cases of sexual harassment are exceptional situations for victims, perpetrators and their environment. This places a special responsibility on institutions to deal with such crises with the utmost care and while respecting the rights of all parties involved. The panel will show what needs to be taken into account.

This online panel takes place in German and French simultaneously. external page Participation Link

MeWell organizes a self-defence workshop led by professional Krav Maga instructors. The workshop is open to all students and university employees of all genders. Places are limited and registration is required. external page More information.

The workshop will be held at ETH Zurich LFV E 41 and is conducted in English.