Responding to Student Bullying and Harassment
St Joseph's School investigates and manages incidents of student 
bullying or harassment on a case-by-case basis, guided by key school policies, including Inclusive School Culture, Student Wellbeing and Safety, and Behaviour Management.
New Zealand law defines harassment in the following ways:
- Harassment is defined as a pattern of intimidating behaviour directed against another person that includes doing any specified act on at least two separate occasions within a period of 12 months. See the Harassment Act 1997 (s 3, 4).
- Racial harassment is defined as harassment on the basis of race. See the Human Rights Act 1993 (s 63) and the Employment Relations Act 2000 (s 109).
- Sexual harassment is defined as behaviour of a sexual nature that is unwelcome or offensive to the person receiving it and repeated, or of such a significant nature, that it has a detrimental effect on that person. It may also describe an implied or explicit threat or promise that accepting or rejecting this sexual behaviour will affect a person's education or employment. See the Human Rights Act 1993 (s 62) and the Employment Relations Act 2000 (s 108).
Bullying is defined as behaviour that is deliberate and can cause harm. Bullying is usually repeated or ongoing, and involves a misuse of power. See What is bullying? 
(Bullying-Free NZ).
We acknowledge that the WorkSafe definition of bullying includes behaviour that may not be deliberate and this should be considered when managing concerns of bullying involving staff. See WorkSafe .
When dealing with concerns or incidents of bullying or harassment, we take appropriate actions that follow the principles of natural justice. We:
Natural justice is a requirement of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 (s 27.1) and the Education and Training Act 2020 (s 78).
Natural justice means ensuring people are treated fairly. The key principles of natural justice are:
- decision-makers must be unbiased
- decision-makers must provide those affected by the decision with the opportunity to be heard.
Natural Justice (Legislation Design and Advisory Committee)
- take steps to investigate promptly and impartially
- treat people fairly and seek to protect their mana and dignity
- ensure that those involved have the opportunity to be heard
- ensure that decision-makers are unbiased and outcomes are not predetermined
- include cultural considerations as part of our investigation and decision-making.
We may also:
- contact and meet with parents/guardians to inform them of the concern or incident
- mediate between students and/or educate the students involved
- manage the incident through our Behaviour Management policy
- stand down, suspend, or exclude a student
- manage the incident through our Responding to Digital Incidents policy (if the incident involves digital harm)
Under the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (s 22), a person causes harm if:
(a) the person posts a digital communication with the intention that it cause harm to a victim, and
(b) posting the communication would cause harm to an ordinary reasonable person in the position of the victim, and
(c) posting the communication causes harm to the victim.
In determining whether a post could cause harm, factors such as language used, age and characteristics of the victim, whether the digital communication was repeated, and the extent of circulation, etc. are taken into account.
Posting intimate visual recordings of a person without explicit consent is also considered an offence. Those under the age of 16 cannot consent to the posting of an intimate visual recording of which they are the subject.
- manage the incident through our Responding to Sexual Behaviour Concerns and Incidents policy (if the incident involves sexual behaviour)
- involve the police or any other appropriate agency.
We work with students, parents, caregivers, whānau, and relevant agencies, as appropriate, to arrange support for affected students.
Related policies
Legislation
- Education and Training Act 2020
- Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- Human Rights Act 1993
- Harassment Act 1997
- Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015
- Privacy Act 2020
Resources
Hei mihi | Acknowledgement
SchoolDocs appreciates the professional advice of the Anderson Lloyd legal team (Dunedin) in reviewing our bullying and harassment policies and procedures.
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: Term 2 2024, Term 3 2022, Term 4 2021, Term 4 2020, Term 1 2019
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