Unless the harassment is enough to get a domestic violence order, or is considered sexual harassment or stalking, you may not be able to take legal action.
Harassment includes any unwelcome behaviour that offends, humiliates or intimidates a person. Generally, unlawful harassment occurs when someone is subjected to prohibited behaviour under anti-discrimination legislation.
The maximum penalties are terms of imprisonment of 3 years (menace, harass or cause offence), 5 years (standard aggravated offence – menace, harass or cause offence), 7 years (special aggravated offence – menace, harass or cause offence, 10 years (threat to kill), 7 years (threat to cause serious harm).
Employers can be held legally responsible for acts of discrimination or harassment that occur in the workplace or in connection with a person's employment. This is known as 'vicarious liability.
Psychological harassment is a form of vexatious behaviour that involves repeated hostile and unwanted words, behaviour, or actions that are painful, hurtful, annoying, humiliating or insulting.
What is Not workplace harassment? Legitimate and reasonable management actions such as actions taken to transfer demote, and discipline an employee provided these actions are conducted in a reasonable way are not considered workplace harassment.
Reporting harassment to the police
You can report harassment to the police. They can charge someone with criminal harassment if: the person has harassed you more than once.
Most significantly, you can sue for the tort of intimidation. But before doing so, there are some things to consider. The tort of intimidation is rarely litigated, and, like all torts, it can be challenging to establish. It is important to acknowledge the difference between criminal law and torts.
Remember that this behaviour is not okay and, if you are the recipient of it, it is not your fault. Unlawful Stalking is a criminal offence in all States and Territories in Australia. Cyberstalking is also considered an act of domestic violence.
Examples of harassment include offensive or derogatory jokes, racial or ethnic slurs, pressure for dates or sexual favors, unwelcome comments about a person's religion or religious garments, or offensive graffiti, cartoons or pictures.
Verbal abuse alone is NOT a crime. This means that under the Domestic and Personal Violence Act, verbal abuse or verbal assault CAN ONLY be a crime if it falls under the scope of “intimidation”, which can be found in the following situation: Gaslighting. Threat.
Verbal harassment is often defined as “language directed at another person that causes that person harm, typically in an emotional or psychological sense.” Most people generally agree that it is not just language.
Quid pro quo harassment is defined as any unwanted or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is made a condition of employment or employment-related decisions.
Under Section 13 of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, any person who stalks or intimidates another with the intention of causing fear of physical or mental harm knowing the conduct is likely to cause fear will be punished for up to 5 years' imprisonment and/or 50 penalty units.
You can report workplace harassment by getting in touch with the EEOC. The EEOC is dedicated to ending discrimination by protecting employees from unlawful harassment and retaliation, according to its website. You can file a harassment claim with the EEOC by calling 1-800-669-4000 or visiting their site.
Thanks to the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act (TIA Act), law enforcement and other agencies can access stored communications with a warrant. This can include "email, SMS or voice messages stored on a carrier's network". In other words, the contents of any communication not encoded via encryption.
Even if you were involved in a conversation that was legally recorded, it's still illegal to communicate the conversation or publish it without the permission of the other people involved in the conversation (with some exceptions).
Under specific circumstances, photos of text messages in Australia may be admissible as evidence in court. These circumstances generally adhere to the principles of the rules of evidence.
Threatening and intimidating behaviors are words, actions, or implied threats that cause reasonable fear of injury to the health and safety of any person or property. These actions include but are not limited to: threats of physical assaults.
However, you won't hear these terms used inside the legal industry in Australia. This is because you can't technically sue someone for libel or slander in Australia, as these legal actions no longer exist. Instead, they both fall under the term 'defamation'.
Threats or physical violence. Yelling or screaming. Ridiculing or insulting a victim in front of coworkers or clients. Assigning the victim duties that are outside of his or her expertise.
Sexual Harassment
It is the most common type of workplace harassment. It is illegal and must be taken seriously. Examples of sexual harassment are sharing sexual photos or posters, inappropriate sexual touching or gestures, passing sexual comments, invading someone's personal space sexually, etc.
Respond directly.
If you feel safe, directly confront the harasser. Simply say something like "That's not cool," or, "Please leave them alone." This can help sometimes, but there is also a possibility that a direct confrontation will escalate the situation.