Harassment occurs when unwelcome behaviour causes the person affected to feel intimidated, insulted or humiliated and a reasonable person would expect it would have this effect. It can occur in a single incident or a series of incidents. Harassment can be experienced by witnessing behaviour not directed to that person e.g. hearing sexist remarks or insulting terms based on gender.
Some examples of harassment include:
- Making offensive comments or insults masquerading as jokes about particular racial or religious groups.
- Sending explicit or sexually suggestive emails, text messages or memos.
- Displaying racially offensive or pornographic images or sending explicit images or footage.
- Making derogatory comments or taunts about a person’s disability.
- Asking intrusive questions about someone’s personal life, including someone’s sex life.
- Repeated inappropriate comments at a colleague’s expense.
Some examples of sexual harassment is a specific form of unlawful harassment. It is unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature and can affect all genders. Sexual harassment can be physical, spoken, visual or written.
Sexual harassment include:
- Indecent exposure.
- Stalking.
- Unwanted sexual attention.
- Sexual assault.
- Offensive comments or insults masquerading as jokes.
- Obscene or threatening communications such as phone calls, letters, emails, text messages and postings on social networking sites.
If an individual does not object to the conduct at the time, it does not make the conduct welcome, or mean it is not harassment. Sexual harassment occurs if a reasonable person, having regard to all the circumstances, would have anticipated that the person harassed would feel offended, humiliated or intimidated.
If an interaction is consensual, welcome and reciprocated it is not sexual harassment.
Racial harassment is another form of unlawful harassment. It describes any unwelcome conduct in relation to a person’s colour, race, nationality, social or ethnic origin or extraction. It can range from stereotypical negative comments to name calling, abuse and physical violence. It can be discriminatory remarks, behaviours or practices, which show racial intolerance.
Some examples of racial harassment include:
- Offensive comments or insults masquerading as jokes, insinuations, humiliating or racially oriented remarks.
- Criticising and being intolerant in regards to the ethnic differences such as accent, clothing, hairstyle, dress, customs and beliefs.
- Acting seemingly disgusted or showing contempt to another related to race or ethnic activities.
- Showing pictures or images that are racially degrading.
