Stalking and harassment occur when a person engages in persistent behaviour that induces fear, distress, or a sense of threat to another person.
Under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, stalking and harassment are recognised as criminal offences.
There are different offences that can fall into this category.
Harassment
This happens when someone who is known to the victim is harassing them. This could be a neighbour, or people from your local area or it could be a stranger and needs to happen more than once.
Harassment may include:
- bullying at school or in the workplace
- cyber stalking (using the internet to harass someone)
- antisocial behaviour
- sending unwanted gifts
- unwanted phone calls, letters, emails or visits
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is prohibited by law as a form of discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.
According to the Act, behaviour constitutes sexual harassment if it:
- Violates your dignity
- Creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment (including online and digital environments)
Some examples of sexual harassment would include:
- sexual comments, jokes or gestures
- staring or leering at your body
- using names like ’slut’ or ‘whore’
- unwanted sexual communications, like emails, texts, DMs
- sharing sexual photos or videos
- groping and touching
Some of these will also constitute sexual or indecent assault.
