Glossary
As defined in the Directive against Sexualized Discrimination, Harassment and Violence, conduct and actions constitute sexualized discrimination, harassment or violence "when the purpose or effect is to engage in unwanted, sexually explicit conduct that violates the dignity of the person concerned, in particular when it creates an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, degrading or offensive environment". This behavior can occur in verbal and non-verbal form as well as in the form of physical assault.
According to this definition accepted at Osnabrück University, it is therefore also harassment if a behavior has a harassing effect on the person concerned, even if this was not the intention behind the behavior. If you experience sexualized harassment or are unsure whether a behavior constitutes sexualized harassment, please contact the advisors in the Equal Opportunity Office at any time.
In the context of (sexualized) discrimination and violence, the Equal Opportunity Office uses the terms "affected person" and "person affected". In particular, the term "victim" is avoided, as this implies passivity and weakness for many people and is therefore explicitly rejected by many of those affected.
At the same time, the Equal Opportunity Office recognizes the validity of the self-designations chosen by those affected. For example, some affected persons find it important to use the term "victim" to emphasize the criminal relevance of what happened. Other affected persons prefer terms such as "survivor" or "experiencer".
Discrimination describes the disadvantaging of people on the basis of actual or ascribed group-specific characteristics such as gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, cultural or social origin, disability, religion/belief, age, racist or anti-Semitic attributions, language, etc.
It is important to understand that discrimination is not merely the result of individual prejudices, but is rooted in institutional practices, social norms and societal structures, for example. We therefore also speak of structural discrimination. Accordingly, the resulting disadvantages are not only located at an individual level, but also have collective effects that are reflected in persistent inequality in education, employment, wealth and social services.
The concept of intersectionality should also be considered in this context.
FLINTA* is an acronym that stands for women, lesbians, inter*(-gender), non-binary, trans*(-gender) and agender people. The asterisk (*) is used as a placeholder for those people who do not find themselves under any of the preceding letters, but who nevertheless experience marginalization and discrimination in patriarchy due to their gender identity.
If only some of these genders are meant, the acronym is adapted accordingly. For example, TIN* is used when referring to trans*(-gender), inter*(-gender) and non-binary persons.
Gender-based violence refers to various acts of violence that people experience because of their gender. In addition to physical violence, this also includes psychological, sexualized and economic violence.
The recently published situation report " Gender-Specific Crimes Against Women" [in German] with its figures from 2023 clearly shows that crimes against women and girls in Germany continue to increase (Federal Criminal Police Office, 2024). For example, 180,715 cases of domestic violence1 were recorded in 2023 (5.6% more than in the previous year), 938 cases of homicide against women (nine cases more than in 2022) and 52,330 sexual offenses (6.2% more than in 2022). Digital violence against women is also increasing particularly strongly: 17,193 cases were registered here, 25% more than in the previous year. The figures clearly show that hate and violence against women are a pressing social problem - especially as it can be assumed that many cases go unreported and the actual figures are therefore likely to be even higher.
The extent of sexualized discrimination, harassment and violence in the university context is often underestimated. The latest figures also show that universities are anything but violence-free spaces. For example, a study conducted at 46 European universities in 2022 (Lipinsky, Schredl, Baumann, Humbert & Tanwar, 2022) reports that almost two in three students and staff surveyed have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence since starting their studies or employment.
Gender-based violence can affect people of any gender, but female students and staff are more affected than their male fellow students and colleagues; people who do not identify with either the female or male gender are most affected. Statistically, the likelihood of being affected by gender-based violence also increases with membership of an ethnic minority, membership of the LGBTIQ* community and with an impairment or chronic illness.
1 As the Federal Criminal Police Office uses the term "domestic violence" to categorize such incidents, we are adopting it here despite valid criticism, particularly from feminists.
Inter*(gender) refers to people whose physical sexual characteristics (e.g. sexual organs, chromosome set or hair growth) cannot be clearly classified as (only) male or female. The asterisk signals a variety of gender identities. An inter*gender person can identify as inter*, but also, for example, as male, female or non-binary.
The concept of Intersectionality serves as an analytical tool for discrimination and the interaction of different power structures. It goes back to the Black feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), who used the example of Black women to show how different systems of domination interact with each other and create discrimination that cannot be attributed to either system (gender or race) alone. This interdependence is illustrated by the discriminatory recruitment practices of a company that systematically disadvantages Black women in application procedures. However, since no discrimination against white women or Black men can be identified, the discrimination here cannot be recognized as such if the analysis is limited to only one of the dimensions of gender or race. Rather, the joint effect of racist and patriarchal structures must be recognized.
In German, the term "Mehrfachdiskriminierung" (multiple discrimination) is often used. This is sometimes viewed critically, as it implies an accumulation or addition of discrimination - instead of the formation of specific forms of discrimination.
Based on this concept, the term "intersectional equality work" is also used. This term means that when striving for gender equality, systems of domination beyond patriarchy must also be considered in order to take all forms of gender-based discrimination into account. The employees of the Equal Opportunity Office have set themselves the goal of working in an intersectional way.
The term trans* or trans*gender describes people whose gender does not match or only partially matches the gender they were assigned at birth. The assignment of (trans*) people to their gender is determined solely by self-attribution and is independent of factors such as first name, appearance, biological characteristics and gender reassignment measures.