What is Harassment?
Harassment includes unwanted behaviour or conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment, or causing a person distress or alarm.
Harassment or bullying may consist of persistent behaviour, although one single act may be considered sufficiently serious to warrant disciplinary action.
Actions may be harassment whether or not the person behaving in that way intends to cause offence. Actions may also be considered harassment if they are conducted online.
These behaviours or conduct might be because of, or connected to, one or more of the following protected characteristics:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
Under our definition, we understand harassment to include domestic violence and abuse (which can also involve control, coercion and threats) and stalking.
We would also consider harassment to include any incidents of physical violence towards another person(s) on the basis of a protected characteristic.