The University of Messina has always based its activity on the promotion of policies aimed at protecting equal opportunities for all members of the university community (teachers, administrative staff, students, interns, staff with atypical contracts), preventing and by contrasting all forms of direct and indirect discrimination which may derive from those risk factors repeatedly stated by Community legislation (age, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, disability and language). These principles are implemented in the bodies that make up the administrative structure that the University has adopted to implement its policies, including the CUG and the Trusted Consultant.
The CUG is made up of all the representatives of the various categories that make up the university community: teaching staff, technical-administrative staff, doctoral students, post-graduate students and male and female student representatives, in order to ensure, overall, gender equality. The composition and functioning of the CUG are governed by a specific Regulation (see Reference Regulation).
The functions of the CUG are proposing, consulting and verifying, and are aimed at promoting and protecting equal opportunities and the working and organizational well-being of all the components of the University. The CUG carries out its activities in favor of both the teaching and technical-administrative staff, structured or not, as well as the student component and all the other figures in training.
CUG - Comitato Unico di Garanzia - University of Messina
The trusted consultant is a figure envisaged by the "Code of conduct to protect the dignity of people who study and work at the University of Messina".
On 17 May 2021, with protocol no. 60365, Dr. Maria Crisafulli was elected Trusted Consultant of the University of Messina.
The person who is the victim of behavior harmful to his dignity can request the intervention of the Consultant with an informal procedure, which must be concluded within 90 days.
The Consultant examines the case, undertaking not to take any action without having first discussed it with the alleged victim of the harassment and having received the express consent.
In seeking, where possible, a conciliatory solution, it adopts the most appropriate initiatives to restore a serene working and study environment.
The trusted advisor, at the request of the interested party:
• assumes the treatment of the case and provides indications on the most suitable methods, including legal ones, to deal with it;
• intervenes, with wide discretion (through interviews, acquisition of any testimonies, conciliatory meetings between the victim and perpetrator of the harassment, etc.) to ascertain the facts and facilitate the overcoming of situations of discomfort in a reasonably short time and the restoration of a peaceful working environment.