FAQs: Formal Complaints for Discrimination Cases
In daily language, “to complain” usually means to complain about someone or something.
Submitting a complaint however means that you as a person who has experienced discrimination at Freie Universität Berlin are able to request a formalized process in which your experience of discrimination is investigated. This typically involves interviewing the person(s) you have submitted a complaint about, consulting other witnesses, and examining any existing evidence.
Counseling and formal complaints have different objectives. The Antidiscrimination Counseling Service #mce_temp_url#offers a safe space and support for those affected by discrimination so that they can reflect on what they have experienced and develop potential strategies for moving forward. It is confidential and eventual further steps are taken only with your consent. Complaints, on the other hand, are formal steps to document and sanction discrimination through legal and institutional channels. Generally, it cannot be guaranteed that complaints are handled confidentially as the person who is subject to the complaint must be interviewed in order to properly examine the case.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to submit a complaint anonymously. While we can very well understand that many of those affected by discrimination may want to remain anonymous, we are unable to guarantee your anonymity in a formal complaints process. However, the number of people who know the details of your complaint will be kept to a minimum.
We will first arrange an appointment with you to clarify any questions. Then we will review your complaint and investigate the case. The person who is the subject of your complaint will then be contacted and questioned. If applicable, witnesses will be interviewed and any (further) evidence examined.
We (currently) do not have a conclusive catalog of measures and sanctions that we are permitted to put in place in the event of a substantiated complaint. Section 7 of Freie Universität Berlin’s Antidiscrimination Policy (LINK) lists the kinds of measures that can be taken in such cases (e.g., conciliation process, notifying HR).