For best experience please turn on javascript and use a modern browser!
You are using a browser that is no longer supported by Microsoft. Please upgrade your browser. The site may not present itself correctly if you continue browsing.
Did you experience or witness harassment, discrimination or sexual violence of any kind at AUC? Please make sure to submit a report or complaint. These will always be taken very seriously and handled confidentially.

To protect the safety and well-being of everyone within the community,  Amsterdam University College (AUC) will not tolerate harassment, discrimination or sexual violence of any kind. AUC encourages everyone who has experienced or witnessed such incidents at AUC to submit a report or complaint using the form below.

Reports and complaints of discrimination, harassment and sexual violence will always be taken very seriously. The form will be received by the Student Life Officer (studentlifeofficer@auc.nl) and handled confidentially. Anonymous complaints can now also be submitted through this form by not filling in your name or contact information. To make a report of discrimination, harassment or sexual violence (either anonymously or with your contact details, please use the following form:

Support resources

The following sources of support are available for students regarding issues related to harassment and/or sexual violence of any degree:

  • Aino Kekkonen & Lisa van Berkel, Student Life Officers (SLO's)
    • Can provide emotional support and help with safety planning, coordinating accommodation, referral to community agencies and university services, to medical services, and/or emergency financial assistance.
    • Email: studentlifeofficer@auc.nl
  • Huan Hsu, Senior Tutor
  • Your own tutor
    • Can help guide you in seeking support services.
  • Emergency Services
    • (Police, Fire Brigade and/or Ambulance)
    • Telephone: 112
  • The Police (non-emergency)
    • Can put you in contact with a specialist or you can visit the specialized facility immediately to formally report the incident. For more information please visit: politie.nl.
    • Telephone: 0900 8844.
    • Text phone for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing: 0900 1844
    • Address: Elandsgracht 117, 1016 TT Amsterdam
  • Sexual Assault Centre (SAC)/ Centrum Seksueel Geweld (CSG)
    • SAC is a national organization that provides guidance, advocacy, and support for survivors of sexual assault. In particular, the Centre offers information about help and treatment; case management; forensic, medical, and psychological care; and guidance on contacting the police, only if desired. Anyone who has been sexually assaulted, raped or has suffered any other form of sexual assault is assigned a personal case manager.
    • Visit this link for more information (with an anonymous chat option)
    • Email: You can email questions to csg@ggd.amsterdam.nl (this email address should not be used to report assaults).
    • Telephone: 0800 0188 (available 24/7)
  • GGD (Public Health Service of Amsterdam)
    • Can help connect you with support services, including testing for sexually transmitted infections. Visit this link for more information.
    • Telephone: 020 555 5911
    • Email: info@ggd.amsterdam.nl
    • Address: Nieuwe Achtergracht 100 1018 WT Amsterdam
  • UvA Confidential Advisors
    • Offer guidance and support if you are experiencing discrimination, sexual intimidation, bullying, aggression, violence and/or stalking
    • See this link for more information
  • UvA IDEAs (formerly Student Disability Platform)
    • As part of UvA, AUC students have access UvA IDEAs, which is a platform run by students with a disability who are committed to creating an accessible and inclusive UvA.
    • Visit this link for more information: UvA IDEAs - student.uva.nl
  • Switchboard
    • An online platform providing free support and services for members of the LGBTQ community in the Netherlands, including information on coming out, sexual identity, gender identity, clubs and events as well as contact with specific services providers such as doctors, lawyers, and therapists. Specific times for calling provided on the website, as well as an email and chat option.
    • Website: Switchboard.nl
    • Telephone: +31 (20) 623 65 65, Email: info@switchboard.nl
  • Slachtoffer Hulp Nederland
    • General website concerning help with any kind of victimization: threats, theft, fraud, intimate partner violence, assault, stalking, traffic accidents, missing persons etc. The website provides basic guidance on legal processes, as well as providing various help-seeking resources, and forums for sharing experiences and contacting other survivors of similar occurrences.
    • While the site itself is in Dutch, two specific numbers are provided for help and advice in English (with an anonymous chat option): https://www.slachtofferhulp.nl/
    • Telephone for non-Dutch visitors: 116-006 (in the Netherlands) OR +31887460000 (outside of the Netherlands)
    • General Telephone: 0900-0101

Dutch Support Services

These services are provided entirely in Dutch in principle, but they might also be able to respond in English to those calling the hotline for advice and help.

  • Antidiscriminatiebureau
    • Government body for official complaints, which provides advice and support, and helps in processing this complaint. Can also function as an intermediary body working with the police and other institutions. Site also provides chat and email options as well as an app. Further connected to a specific body for online discrimination.
    • https://www.discriminatie.nl
    • Telephone: 0900 - 2 354 354
    • Email: info@discriminatie.nl.
  • Roze in Blauw
    • Police contact point specifically for members of the LGBTQ+ community, aiming to lower the threshold for the provision of information and support in instances of discrimination and violence.
    • Email: rozeinblauw.amsterdam@politie.nl
    • Telephone: 088-169 1234 (24 hours a day)
  • Sensoor
    • Mental health focused organization aiming to provide a listening ear to people in moments of distress. 24/7 contact via chat, email or phone to talk about topics such as loneliness, depression, mourning, self-harm and eating disorders, or any other topic.
    • https://www.sensoor.nl/
    • Telephone: 0900-0767

For an overview of all student support resources, please download the Student Support Flowchart

A note about consent

Consent is Clear, Coherent, Willing, Ongoing 

  • Consent is clear. It is expressed through words or actions that create mutually understandable permission. Consent is never implied and the absence of a no is not a yes. Silence, “I’m not sure” “Maybe” “I don’t know” and similar phrases are NOT consent. 
  • Consent is coherent. People incapacitated by drugs or alcohol cannot consent. Someone who cannot make rational, reasonable decisions because they lack the capacity to understand the “who, what, when, where, why or how” of the situation cannot consent. People who are asleep or in another vulnerable position cannot consent. 
  • Consent is willing. Consent is never given under pressure. Consent is not obtained through psychological or emotional manipulation. Consent cannot be obtained through violence or threat. Someone in an unbalanced power situation (i.e someone under your authority cannot consent). 
  • Consent is ongoing. Consent must be granted every time. Consent must be obtained at each step of physical intimacy. If someone consents to one sexual activity, they may or may not be willing to go further.

Definitions to keep in mind:

Discrimination refers to the differential treatment or proposed differential treatment of different categories of people on the grounds of their race, ethnicity, national origin, culture, language, sex (including pregnancy and gender expression), marital and parental status, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political beliefs, genetic information, age and ability.

Harassment refers to unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, non-verbal, physical or through online media, including intimidation, ridicule, insults, comments, threats of violence or physical conduct, that is based on an individual’s characteristics such as listed above and/or is aimed at or results in a threatening, hostile, insulting, humiliating or offensive situation. Hazing and stalking are forms of harassment.

Bullying is repeated and offensive, insulting or hurtful behaviour directed towards a person or group of people that often involves the abuse or misuse of power through means intended to undermine, humiliate, denigrate or injure the recipient. Bullying can take various forms, including name calling, sarcasm, teasing and unwarranted criticism, as well as threats of violence or actual physical violence. Bullying through online media is often referred to as cyberbullying.

Hazing is any action taken or situation created that, intentionally or unintentionally, produces mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule, as a condition for an individual to be admitted into or feel an accepted member of a particular organisation or community, regardless of the willingness of the individual to participate.

How can you tell if what you are planning might be considered hazing? Is a selected group being singled out for ritual? Would you feel comfortable participating in this activity if your parents were watching? Is it humiliating, exhausting, or intimidating? Will it result in physical or emotional discomfort (including ridicule)? Could it endanger anyone’s health or safety? Remember, what you think is “harmless fun" might be experienced as deeply 

AUC policy for instances of harassment, discrimination and sexual violence

This policy document is part of a broader series of actions that AUC is taking to uphold a diverse and inclusive academic environment. It outlines AUC’s commitment to prevention, awareness of, and intervention in instances of harassment, discrimination, or sexual violence through continual investment, education and training. More generally, AUC encourages everyone to cultivate an awareness of the effects of their actions on others and to treat all within the community with compassion and respect.

AUC is committed to creating and nurturing an inclusive, supportive and safe environment, based on the fundamental belief that everyone has the right to live, study and work in a safe and supportive environment, free from abuse, harassment and/or assault. Our general commitment derives its meaning in the more specific aims, measures and procedures by which it is implemented. The AUC policy for instances of harassment, discrimination and sexual violence (PHADISE) lays down these implications. It delineates the features of a transparent, robust system for disclosure, reporting and seeking support, including the establishment of clear protocols for handling complaints of harassment, discrimination, and sexual violence/misconduct.

The AUC MT adopted PHADISE on 17 October 2022, and work has now begun on implementation of and communication about its elements, to ensure greater visibility and awareness of PHADISE.