I have been bullied or harassed. What should I do?

Get support from a friend or family member. Talking things through with someone you trust can sometimes help the immediate situation and help you think through what, if anything, you want to do.  If you aren’t ready to talk yet, writing things down can also help. 

Consider talking to a staff member in your accommodation, or a member of academic or professional staff in your School.  They might not be able to fix the problem immediately, but they can listen and might be able to help. 

Talk to the askUS Enquiries team about your options. 
 
 

Think about whether (depending on the circumstances) you could talk to the person who is doing it.  It is possible that they haven’t really thought about the impact this is having on you or faced up to the fact that what they are doing is inappropriate. Just having this conversation can feel really hard, and it’s OK to be nervous – you could put it in writing or talk through with someone what you might say. To keep things neutral try “I don’t know if you realise, but when you [do this behaviour] I feel [how you feel about it] and I’d like you to stop doing it” 

The University’s Counselling & Wellbeing Service provides a listening ear and can also support you if you want to know what next steps might be available for you. Their services are completely confidential. This client confidentiality will only be broken if the counsellors think there is a risk to you or someone else, or if there is a legal duty.
How to contact Counselling & Wellbeing. 

You can also access advice and guidance from your G.P. surgery (you may be registered with the University Medical Centre or otherwise you can look up your G.P.’s information here if you can’t remember). 

Salford University Students’ Union Student Advice Centre also provide independent advice and support on a range of issues.  
 
 

You may prefer to speak to someone outside of the University instead of, or as well as, our services.   

Find out what support is available to you if you think you have been bullied or harassed.

We encourage you to tell someone about what’s happening, so that there is a better chance to support you and prevent things like this happening in future.  You have a range of options to report: 
 
 

You can use this form to let the University know and access support.  In the case of a Hate Incident or Hate Crime, you can also ask us to report it to the police on your behalf.  You can report anonymously if you choose to, although this will limit the actions we can take, it’s still helpful to have the information. 
 
 

You can also:  
 

Harassment, stalking, and criminal behaviour targeted at you because of a protected characteristic are all illegal.  Even apparently minor actions if they are unwanted, and repeated, can be the subject of legal action.  You can contact the police by: 

There are options in civil law as well – you can apply for a restraining order against another person, which requires them to stay away from you, for example.  Some solicitors offer schemes where you can get 30 minutes advice for free.