Harassment is a charge that nobody wants on their record. It is a summary conviction with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years. There is also a mandatory ten-year weapons ban for a conviction, and you may have trouble finding employment or crossing the US border.
There are two classifications for criminal harassment: domestic and non-domestic. Domestic is where the perpetrator is related to the complainant by blood, marriage, cohabitation or through a romantic or sexual relationship. Non-domestic or civil harassment has no prior relationship with the complainant.
Harassment can be complicated to understand on your own. Consult a criminal defence lawyer to know if what you or someone else is doing is harassment. Let’s take a look at the types of harassment charges.
Type #1: Workplace Harassment
Harassment often happens in the workplace and is a problem businesses face. Some types of harassment on the job are based on:
- Race: They are harassed because of their ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship or even skin colour. It comes from racist jokes, insults, comments and slurs.
- Disability: Discriminating, joking, patronizing and being non-accommodating to a disabled person is harassment.
- Gender: Some people can’t work with members of the opposite sex and often occur because of negative societal stereotypes. Both men and women are affected by this type of harassment.
- Sexual Orientation: This is a type of harassment that was tolerated in the past but fortunately, times are rapidly changing. Harassing someone if they don’t align with your view of sexual attraction has no place in society.
Type #2: Cyberbullying
Online harassment is a modern type of stalking, but it still can seriously harm and terrorize a person. While this is not in person, it is done through various forms of communication such as phone calls, texts and even email.
Social media gives people a sense of anonymity and can virtually stalk and harass people through platforms like:
- TikTok
These are used, as well as other popular apps and come in the form of hateful comments, offensive posts and harmful content posted against another person. This causes mental anguish to the victims while destroying reputations and may, in turn, lead to stalking in the real world with violent confrontations.
Type #3: Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is something many people face both in the workplace and out. It can include unwanted sexual advances, physical touching, lewd comments and sexual assault.
In the workplace, there are two forms of sexual harassment:
Quid pro quo This is when a benefit or the prevention of a detriment is gained through a sexual favour, usually from a superior.
Hostile work environment A hostile work environment can occur from a superior, lower-level employee, coworkers or clients. This harassment interferes with your ability to perform your work and becomes offensive, intimidating and even hostile as it affects your phycological well-being. These include:
- Sexual jokes
- Unwanted physical contact like touching, rubbing or groping
- Innuendo
- Sharing sexual material physically or digitally
- Lewd comments
Type #4: Elder Harassment
Elder harassment covers a few different areas and can be anything from neglect, stalking, emotional pressure and abuse. Financial abuse is also prevalent and is constant pressure to attain money or property from an elderly person, usually when they fall sick or have lost a loved one. This makes them more lonely and vulnerable.
The harassment is often from a family member but may also be at the hands of a caregiver who has gained their trust. They use intimidation, guilt threats and even physical abuse to get what they want.
Type #5: Stalking Harassment
Harassment is often thought of as stalking, and while this is true, there is more to it. It also includes unwanted behaviour like verbal abuse, physical contact or other actions that cause emotional stress.
Stalking includes:
- Repeatedly watching or the following someone
- Repeatedly making communication with someone either by phone or online
- Besetting at a place where a person will be going
- Engaging in threatening conduct toward the person
- Following them from place to place
- Causing fear in the safety of the person
- Threatening a person
These activities can involve the complainant or someone known to them, including a family member.
Type #6: Psychological Harassment
This type of harassment often accompanies other forms but, on its own, is an offence. There are several forms of it, and it hurts the psychological well-being of another person. Psychological harassment can go on to affect a person’s health as well as their social and work life.
The forms of psychological harassment include:
- Controlling someone’s movements or who they see
- Verbal abuse with threats, insults and put-downs
- Threatening or following through on destroying personal belongings or harming pets
- Humiliation
- Manipulating
- Gaslighting
- Bullying
- Constant criticizing
- Forced isolation
This typically happens in an intimate relationship but can also occur with children, friends, family members and coworkers.
These are the types of criminal harassment you can be charged with or have forced upon you. If you can, confront the harasser to make them stop. If it is dangerous to do so, contact the police and make a report of harassment. Understanding the types of harassment will better equip you to get help if you need it.
