Complaints of abusive behavior at Penn substantially increased last year, according to a new report

The frequency of complaints submitted by members of the Penn community about abusive behavior increased “sharply” last year, according to the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Office of the Ombudsman, a campus office that handles various conflicts among students, faculty, staff and even parents of students, recently released its 2015-16 report. It found that the number of complaints about inappropriate or abusive behavior had risen sharply in comparison to the 2011-2015 period. These complaints constituted the largest single category of the office’s cases for the past year.

Complaints were filed in protest against “abrasive and abusive treatment,” according to the report. Members of the Penn community complained of being treated with a lack of respect and of being bullied.

22.67 percent of visitors to the Office of the Ombudsman between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016 raised issues about behavior. In the previous four years, only 11.7 percent of all visitors raised issues about behavior.

Ombudsman and history professor Lynn Hollen Lees said her office cannot confirm that this sort of abusive behavior has recently increased — only that more people are coming to her office to report it.

According to the report, some people who complained feared retaliation from the superiors who they alleged mistreated them.

“The fear of retaliation discourages many from open complaints,” the report states. “The common denominator in such cases is the disparity in power wielded by supervisors over employees, faculty over students and tenured faculty over untenured faculty or adjuncts.”

When a member of the Penn community comes to the Office of the Ombudsman with an issue, there are several of options available to address it.

“The first thing that we always do is to listen very respectfully to the complaint and talk with the person who has come in about their needs, their wishes, what their options are, what university policy is, what kinds of different ways there would be toward moving forward to some kind of a resolution of the conflict. And we help them to think through what it is they want to have happen,” Lees said. “In some cases, we take a complaint forward.”

Depending on the wishes of those who visit, the Office of the Ombudsman may also offer further information about University resources, speak with others involved with the situation and offer mediation services. It is impartial and does not conduct formal investigations.

Lees said issues brought to the office are kept confidential, except when there is a risk of “immediate and severe physical harm to a person” or when there is a legal obligation to share information.

The report states that complaints “signal a lack of consensus about acceptable modes of communication” at Penn and that work is needed “to maintain open lines of respectful communication and to foster greater trust across the University.” The office hopes to increase accountability when people believe they have been treated unfairly and consult with University leaders to find solutions for conflicts.

Lees said her office can have conversations with particular administrators, faculty members and student groups and raise the issue “in any kind of training situation that exists within a school or within a unit.”

“There are a whole series of ways in which we regularly reach out to groups across campus, and we can raise these issues in a general fashion,” she said.

In addition to her office, Lees recommended other resources for those who have issues related to behavior, including the Office of Student Conduct’s Mediation program for students and Human Resources’ Workplace Issue Resolution Program for staff.

Lees also praised the Campaign for Community, the University’s initiative to encourage discussions about controversial issues.

“We’re strongly in favor of the Campaign for Community — getting people to engage with it is one of our functions and one of the things that we think is very necessary,” she said.