Danish law now protects university students from harassment

When students at Danish universities and other higher education institutions are subjected to bullying or sexual harassment, their education institution is now under a clear legal obligation to take action.

The Danish government and a broad majority in the Danish parliament have passed an amendment to existing education legislation as part of a new political agreement on vocational education programmes, which was presented on 6 May.

The trade union Djøf — which covers law, economics, and social science graduates — is happy with the amendment:

»We have long been puzzled by the fact that the [Danish] Educational Environment Act has not adequately covered students in higher education. The law has only applied to pupils in primary and secondary education when it comes to bullying and harassment. This has meant that it has not been clearly stated that all students are protected against, for example, sexual harassment and discrimination under the Danish anti-discrimination legislation,« Laurits Rasmussen, chair of Djøf Studerende, says in a press release.

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A necessary step

According to Laurits Rasmussen, the legal amendment is a necessary step towards ensuring a safe and inclusive study environment for everyone.

»With the amendment, higher education institutions will now have a reinforced obligation to ensure all students a good psychological educational setting. Of course this needs to be followed up with dialogue at each institution with students about how to work concretely with the educational environment, and being clear about the available options if someone experiences something unpleasant,« he says.

The amendment means that the educational environment legislation now explicitly states that schools and educational institutions are obliged to ensure a learning environment free from discrimination, sexual harassment, and other forms of abuse. According to Djøf, this wording is crucial to establish clarity on rights and responsibilities in the study environment.