The purpose of this policy is to prevent the harassment or intimidation of any person due to race, religious beliefs, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disabilities, political beliefs, appearance, age, and marital or family status. This policy applies to students, parents, teachers, administrators, and support staff.
Harassment is a repetition of words, actions or gestures of a derogatory or vexatious nature that concern a person or a group of persons, this also includes cyber bullying. This is particularly the case when such behavior seems to hurt the person’s dignity, their physical or psychological integrity. The conduct in question does not need to be intentional to be considered as harassment. It can occur in or out of the school establishment or in connection with an activity organized by the School.
Harassment will not be tolerated under any circumstance within the life of the institution. Any complaint in this regard will bring an investigation or an appropriate disciplinary action.
École Socrates-Démosthène is committed to protecting the rights of the plaintiffs as well as those who are implicated in all cases that are brought to its attention. This policy implies the confidentiality regarding the identity of all parties, as well as the circumstances linked to the complaint and any taken measures to address the issue.
Therefore, the School implicitly says that courtesy, tolerance and education are the best ways to prevent differences of this nature.
If anyone considers being a victim of one form or another of harassment, they should report the incident immediately.

Procedure:

  • 1. If you are harassed or intimidated:

a) If deemed appropriate, let the offender/harasser know that their behavior is unwelcome and ask them to stop.
b) Note significant details surrounding the incident: dates, times, places, witnesses, documents and your reaction. It is not necessary to record everything but the true story of the events can be very useful.
c) If you do not want to directly confront the harasser, or if the approach does not lead to anything, then you should complain to your teacher about the situation.

  • 2. Processing of the complaint:

a) Once the complaint is reported to the teacher, three scenarios are possible:
i) The teacher may assess that the behavior in question is not considered harassment and no further action is required
ii) In this case the complainant is dissatisfied with the teacher’s response; they can go directly to the direction.
iii) The complainant and the teacher may agree that this is indeed a case of harassment or intimidation and that this behavior should be reported to the alleged harasser. The teacher will determine what to do to fix the problem.
iv) If the complainant and the teacher agree that the author of harassment or bullying is the director of the campus, the problem should be confidentially exposed to the General Director.
b) If the problem remains unresolved, the situation will be entrusted to the Director, who will separately interview the parties and revise the resolution method initiated by the teacher. The Director will study the nature, persistence and seriousness of the alleged offense. If the Director finds that the allegation has not been substantiated, they will make its decision in a written report that will be sent to both the alleged harasser and the complainant, also a copy shall be kept in the complainant’s file. If the complaint appears to be justified, the Director shall determine the appropriate action to take. The actions that the Director may take, without excluding other options, include a reference to a doctor or a psychologist, suspension, time trial, expulsion or dismissal.
c) Whatever the outcome of the complaint made in good faith, the author, as well as anyone providing information on the case, will be protected from all forms of retaliation by staff or students.
d) Because complaints of harassment or bullying will be treated very seriously, mischievous or groundless complaints can lead to disciplinary action against the person who complained.