Frequently Asked Questions

The Victim Support Portal was created in 2020 by ENAI and is now managed and developed as part of the Erasmus+ FAITH project. The Portal seeks to build a community of support and guidance for victims of misconduct and questionable practices in research and education. We recognise that victims of unethical practices in academia or research are often left unsupported and afraid to seek help from their Institutions. Through this Portal, anyone can ask a question or discuss their problems in confidence and receive support from one or more dedicated mentors.

Yes. We aim for our Portal to be widely disseminated so that anyone can reach out to us with their request! Feel free to spread the word about our Portal!

Yes. Our documents, educational resources and bibliography are available under CC-BY 4.0 license, unless stated otherwise.

You may ask a question or share a problem of misconduct or questionable practice in research or education that you are currently experiencing using the Menu “Ask a Question”. You will be asked to provide a title and a description of your problem. You will also be asked to select one or more categories that best describe your situation. If you wish, you may select one or more mentors to support you in finding a solution to your problem. All requests submitted will be private by default and only visible to our mentors.

Yes. We encourage you to ask a question or share examples that you have experienced in the past. You may ask your question or share your example in the Menu “Ask a question”. All requests will be private by default and only visible to our mentors. Where appropriate, certain requests, together with the advice provided by the mentors, may be made publicly available on the Portal, but only after all personal details have been removed. This information will serve to help other people in similar situations. Approved consent is required from the person who posted the request before any anonymised case details are made publicly available on the Portal.

Yes. However, we advise that people facing a problem of misconduct or questionable practice in research or education come forward themselves with their requests for help. All submitted requests will be private by default and only visible to our mentors.

Your request will be assessed by a team of mentors who will dedicate their time to provide you with appropriate advice, according to the nature of your problem. All genuine requests will receive a response from one or more mentors.

No. You may ask your question or share your situation without being registered on the Portal. However, after submitting your request, you will receive an automatic email asking you to register. You need to be registered on the Portal to see the reply from our mentors and to engage in a conversation with them.

If you wish to withdraw your request after submitting it, you should email us (victims@academicintegrity.eu) clearly stating that you wish for your request to no longer be considered by our team of mentors.

Our team of mentors are academics and experts from the European Network for Academic Integrity (ENAI) and the Erasmus+ FAITH (Facing Academic Integrity Threats) project, who will dedicate their time to supporting and advising people on their problems. All mentors are experts in relevant aspects of academic and research integrity (e.g. plagiarism, publication ethics, mentorship, data manipulation, etc.). You may see the expertise of individual members in the sub-menu “List of Mentors”.

You are welcome to indicate the name of the mentor you wish to support you on your issue, when submitting your request. You may indicate the name of one or more mentors. The mentor(s) you indicate will contact you shortly, through the Portal.

Once you submit your request, one or more mentors will be assigned and will assess the details of your request. Our mentors will provide you with advice according to the nature of your problem. Once a mentor replies to your request, you will receive a notification email. You may see the complete response and reply to the mentor using the Menu “Discussion Forum”.

All submitted requests will be private by default and only visible to our mentors. Where appropriate, certain requests, together with the advice provided by mentors, may be made publicly available on the Portal, but only after all personal details have been removed. This information will serve to help other people in similar situations. Approved consent is required from the person who posted the request before any anonymised case details are made publicly available on the Portal.

When submitting a request, the username you provided when you created your account will be private and only visible to our mentors. Once logged in, you may edit your profile and change your username, if you wish.

If you have not registered in the Portal, you will be asked to introduce your email when you submit your request. Your email will only be used to send an automatic registration link to the Portal. We ask you to register in our Portal to see the reply from our mentors and for all communications between you and them.

Yes. We welcome other people to reply, comment or share their experiences on similar cases in the Discussion Forum, the Stories and Blog sections. When submitting your reply or comment, this will be private and pending approval by our mentors. Inappropriate replies or comments will be disregarded.

Anyone who has been unfairly disadvantaged by misconduct or questionable practice in research or education may ask a question or share their situation to obtain support from our mentors. We also support and welcome requests from integrity/ethics officers, publishers and other stakeholders.

Yes. Anyone can ask a question or share their problem to obtain support from our mentors. We acknowledge victims as anyone who has seen their work plagiarised, has suffered from offensive behaviour/bullying/threats, has been unfairly accused of unethical actions, or was denied credit in a publication, among others.

Your rights should be described in your University’s Code of Ethics, Academic Integrity Policies, Reporting Misconduct, or similar documents. Read the relevant documents to find out what options you have. Try to find someone (e.g. integrity/ethics officer, ombudsperson, etc.) at your institution whose responsibility is to deal with cases of misconduct or questionable practices in research or education. Do not be afraid to report it!

No. Our mentors will only be able to support and advise you on the actions you should take, according to the nature of your situation. Our mentors will not provide legal advice, nor do they have the power to contact or influence the abusers, institutions or other stakeholders related to your issue.