Counseling, Human Rights Consultation and Health Services

Counseling Center

ICU Counseling Center provides psychological support to help ICU students find better solutions to difficulties and challenges encountered during the university life. Some common issues students discuss in counseling include adjustment to university life, interpersonal relationships, self-understanding, career paths after graduation, and mental and physical health. The staff members at the counseling center are clinical psychologists, counselors, and a psychiatrist with experience in university counseling. Individual counseling, group counseling, and workshops are among the various services offered by the counseling center.


Human Rights Consultation

As a university that places importance on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICU works to promote a campus where all students, faculty and staff can live and work peacefully and can benefit from an educational, research and work environment free from harassment, sexual, academic or otherwise. The university maintains a system consisting of a Human Rights Committee and Human Rights Advisers in order to conduct counseling and educational activities with regard to human rights. The library has a collection of books and references concerning human rights and sexual, academic and power harassment. Please make use of these resources.

Basic Policies for the Prevention of Human Rights Violations

As a university that values the International Declaration on Human Rights, ICU takes, as its responsibility, the securing of a safe campus for its community members to live and work, by providing an educational, research and working environment free from human rights violations. For this reason, discrimination on the basis of gender, race, nationality, origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, etc. and any harassment that takes advantage of one's position/standing, regardless of the form it takes, are unacceptable. All members of the campus community are expected to fully understand the internationality and the Christian spirit that ICU stands for and work together to create a pleasant campus.

Individuals and Groups Who May Require Human Rights Advising

Students

Any person who studies at this university, including students of undergraduate and graduate schools, research fellows, credit auditors, and noncredit auditors.

Faculty and Staff

Teachers, administrative staff, part-time lecturers, research fellows, teaching assistants, research institute assistants, laboratory assistants, part-time staff, contract employees and temporary workers dispatched to the university by another organization, and any other person who works at the university.

A Campus Free from Human Rights Violations

If you have felt shamed or threatened, try to prevent the harassment from becoming serious by expressing your feelings at an early stage. You feel hesitant to express yourself due to status or positional differences, however, it is better to seek help from the Human Rights Advisors at ICU, or from off-campus professional consulting organizations. Anyone can become a perpetrator. If you have been indicated as a perpetrator, it is crucial to reflect on your behaviors and ideas. Even if you cannot recall why you are blamed as such, it is important to respect the feelings of others and not to assume that she/he should simply tolerate the incident. Beware of secondary damage. Occasionally, a person who lends a hand to target of harassment gives unintentional comments such as "Let it go," that may hurt rather than help. Spreading rumors after listening to the someone's confession can also lead to secondary damage. It is important not to spread rumors.

Definition of Human Rights and Methods of Consultation

Definition and Examples of Human Rights Violation and Harassment

At ICU, we define human rights violations not only as sexual harassment, but also academic harassment, power harassment and conduct that uses status and position differentials to place others at a disadvantage in their education, research, or work. ICU prohibits all forms of harassment. Human rights violations often occur in structural settings in which a person with power abuses his or her power, status, or authority against a less powerful person to trap him or her into circumstances in which he or she cannot resist: relationships such as faculty-student, superior -subordinate, senior-junior, or a member of a majority and a minority group, etc.

On-campus relationships can be shaped by off-campus interactions. Therefore, off-campus speech and behavior are not exempt from scrutiny.

Even in relatively equal-status and equal-position relationships, human rights violations can, of course, occur. And they can occur in the reverse direction of power as well.

About Sexual Harassment

"Sexual harassment" is : "any unwanted speech or action based on a sexual interest or desire and conducted in the context of a power relationship."

The determination of whether an utterance or act was "unwanted" is based not on the actor's judgment, but on that of the receiver of the act or utterance. "That was not my intention" is an excuse that, in principle, will not be accepted. It is necessary to develop the ability to calibrate whether one is imposing one's thoughts and feelings on others and what others are thinking or experiencing.

"Based on a sexual interest or desire" includes discriminatory attitudes toward sexual minorities. The imposition of "gender roles" is also sexual harassment. Let us rethink the fixed attitudes we so easily assume, like "she is a woman, after all" or "he isn't manly."

About Academic Harassment

"Academic harassment" refers to "the use of power to harass in academic and research situations."

In efforts to deal with sexual harassment, we have become cognizant that there are serious offenses other than sexual speech and conduct which occur in research and educational settings-in the carrying out of research and in teaching and guidance. This is academic harassment, and it includes denying a student a research topic, refusing to give guidance to students, interfering in research activities, assigning grades unequally, withholding important information, spreading negative and damaging rumors, giving loud reprimand for missed details, and any other actions that constitute an infringement of the right to receive education, the right to conduct education and research, or the right to work. These actions occur in contexts in which the one who is guiding abuses his or her power over the one being guided, and in power relationships between and among research collaborators.

When someone is robbed of the chance to live up to their full potential, that person is unable to produce the results intended, evaluations of their capabilities decline, and it is easy for others to misinterpret this as a fault in that person. And in many cases, the person being harassed becomes isolated.

Many cases of academic harassment are abetted by complicit subordinates and colleagues who either cooperate or keep their silence while those with considerable authority are known to be abusing their power. One could even say that academic harassment could not exist without these "passive collaborators." When harassment ensues, people choose not to become "passive collaborators."

Other Sorts of Human Rights Violations

Aside from the issues mentioned above, we must watch out for other forms of Human Rights Violations, such as power harassment in the working environment (the use of status and authority to increase subordinates' workloads, or the withholding of information, etc.). Power is granted for the institutional purposes of carrying out work responsibilities, and it is not granted in order to use one's status and authority to treat others any way one pleases. Even though there are status and authority differentials, we need the self-awareness to mutually view each other as equals. As those with higher statuses and positions tend to become insensitive to power relationships, they must be especially careful with this issue.

Methods of Consultation

If you feel you are the target of a human rights violation, don't struggle alone. Get counsel when you don't know whether the actions you received constitute harassment or not. You can prevent the harassment from becoming serious by consulting at an early stage. Furthermore, if you are unsure whether you are being harassed, it is still important to keep a record of the events of the incidents.

Methods of Consultation

All students, faculty and staff are entitled to consultation. Consultations are fielded face-to-face or by telephone, email or letter correspondence. There are six Human Rights Advisors within the university. Please contact these advisors in the way that is easiest for you to make use of this entitlement. We also take consultations from parties other than those who have been targeted, such as friends, or the person thought to be the perpetrator (the person indicated as perpetrator).

Consultations and Fact-finding Investigations

Human Rights Advisors will work to resolve each case based on the premises of the complaint filed by the complainant. However, based on the complainant's wishes, or if it is deemed necessary to clarify relevant facts by acquiring information from the other party, a Human Rights Advisor may register a complaint to the Human Rights Committee. The Human Rights Committee will then confer with both parties. The Committee may also proceed with further investigation or conciliation of the case. Regarding the investigation/conciliation as well, the wishes of the complainant will be respected throughout the process.

Consultation is also available to third parties, but formal complaints can be made only by the party who has encountered the harassment. Also, the Human Rights Committee may decline to accept the complaint due to its content or other reason. If the Human Rights Committee declines to accept a complaint under the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it will be notified the consultees of the reason for its decision.

Maintaining Confidentiality of Consultations

In order to protect your privacy, consultations will be kept confidential. The Human Rights Advisor will also seek for your permission in advance if it seems appropriate to report the case to other Human Rights Advisors or in a Human Rights Advisors' meeting. Furthermore, the advisors will take utmost care to prevent you from facing disadvantages from having filed the complaint.

Human Rights Advisors

Human Rights Advisors work together with those they consult in order to understand the human rights violations they have encountered and sort out the problems. They lend consultees support by ascertaining what they wish to do toward solving the problems and strengthening resolve over the course of action to be taken. Consultees' wishes are respected throughout the resolution process. Also, they may give referrals to on- and off-campus physicians, counselors, and specialist institutions, as the need arises.

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Student Health Service

The ICU Health Care Office is responsible for supporting the health of students, faculty and staff, as well as for campus environmental health conditions. The Health Care Office consists of the University Physician and nurses. The nurses provide first aid and health consultation every day and twice a week the physician provides health consultation and referral letters. It also organizes student, faculty and staff annual check-ups.


Support for Students with Special Needs

In accordance with the Basic Policy below, International Christian University, through the Special Needs Support Services (SNSS) office, provides reasonable accommodations to students with physical disabilities (orthopedic disabilities, visual impairments, hard of hearing/deaf), health impairments, learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and psychological disabilities, etc. The SNSS office is also working to promote the creation of a universal learning environment in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, relevant departments at ICU, etc.

Basic Policy for Student with Special Needs

Standing by the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ICU shall prepare and maintain an environment in which all students can learn on the basis of equal opportunity, without any discrimination, and with dignity. ICU shall secure opportunities for those with disabilities to participate in learning, teaching, research, and other related activities equally alongside those without disabilities.

SNSS Website

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