If you are studying at Freie Universität (or plan to study here), you are welcome to contact the following services. They offer advice and support to all students, including bachelor’s students, master’s students, doctoral candidates, exchange students, and preparatory course students, as well as prospective students. In most cases, confidentiality is guaranteed. That means that the information you share will only be given to third parties with your explicit consent. If you are uncertain, don’t hesitate to ask if confidentiality and/or your anonymity will be respected.

If you wish to meet with someone of the same gender, please let the office know. They will honor your request where possible.

Advice and support services are always voluntary and free of charge. You also have the right to be accompanied by someone you trust. The person does not have to be a member of the university.

Services at Freie Universität Berlin What happens when I contact one of these services? External Services

Services at Freie Universität

Here you can find an overview of the services, organized according to diversity dimensions and areas of specialization.

In addition to the services listed here, you can also contact the vice dean for student affairs in your department to discuss incidents involving discrimination or other conflicts. However, please note that in certain situations, the vice dean will not be able to guarantee confidentiality due to their specific responsibilities. Depending on the circumstances, they may have to take action without your consent.

For example, in cases of sexualized harassment or violence, the vice dean has a legal responsibility to take steps to protect the person subjected to such actions, even if that person would prefer that no action be taken. The wishes of the person affected by the incident will, however, be respected whenever possible. Every effort will also be made to ensure that they are informed of any actions and will not suffer any negative consequences that might impact their personal or professional lives.

There are also other services available at Freie Universität that provide assistance with topics not directly associated with diversity and antidiscrimination: Advice and support guide for academic affairs.

What happens when I contact one of these services?

Usually, the first thing that happens is that a service staff member will listen to your concerns and discuss the situation with you. They will help you think about how to assess the situation, what your needs and wishes are and how you might achieve them. They might also help you write up a summary of what took place and/or provide you with information about other relevant support services and courses of action. 

If you expressly wish to pursue further steps, the staff member can also help you plan them. No action should be taken without your explicit consent. 

The staff member could, for example, possibly accompany you to meetings with other offices (including meetings with the vice dean for student affairs), provide further advice, and help represent your interests if you so choose. 

Depending on the severity of the incident, the specific circumstances, and the service office’s scope of authority and responsibility, they might discuss with you whether one or more of the following steps could be useful for example:

• A meeting with the person accused of committing the act in question (possibly facilitated by a third person).
• A meeting with the academic affairs office to discuss options, such as switching courses even after the registration deadline or making exceptions to attendance requirements. 
• Further support from other services either at the university or elsewhere. 
• A conflict resolution or mediation process carried out by a qualified professional.  

You may request the aid of an interpreter if you wish. 

If such steps do not resolve the problem or appear insufficient due to the severity of the incident, the staff member might notify the vice dean for student affairs – with your consent (to file a complaint for example). 

External Advice & Support Services

• Berliner Krisendienste: Berlin Crisis Service providing support for issues including psychosocial crises and acute mental and psychiatric emergencies. Multilingual staff who work with interpreters where necessary (information available in English and several other languages, see site menu)
• Berlin State Office for Equal Treatment and Against Discrimination (LADS): Overview of relevant services in Berlin (in German) and an Ombudsperson who can provide support if you were discriminated against by the university as an institution.
• Antidiskriminierungsnetzwerk Berlin des TBB (ADNB): Counselling Center for Equal Treatment – Against Discrimination (multilingual)
• Anti-Discrimination Counselling Age, Disability, Chronic Illness (ADB) (work with interpreters where necessary)
• Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency information also available in Arabic
• National database of rape crisis centers and women’s support services (bff – Frauen gegen Gewalt e.V.) (information also available in Turkish and Arabic)
• National database of antidiscrimination support services (in German) 

The diversity website is a work in progress, so your feedback or suggestions for content would be much appreciated: diversity@fu-berlin.de