Harassment: Know the types and know how to act in the face of them

Harassment, according to the dictionary, is impertinent insistence, towards someone, with statements, proposals, claims, etc. Most of us have experienced some form of harassment and perhaps it has even gone almost unnoticed. This is because some types of harassment are very rooted in our society, and are even considered normal.

However, on the street, at work, among friends and even at home, people suffer the most diverse types of harassment. Check out what they are and how to act in a situation like this.

types of harassment

According to lawyer Elis Marina Bonin Barbieri, there are several types of harassment. “In its most basic notion, the harasser, normally in a position of power, seeks to humiliate, undermine the victim by attacking their personality, intellect or even physical form,” she explains.

The most common and visible forms are stalking, bullying, moral harassment and sexual harassment. They also exist in other formats, such as consumer harassment (telemarketing calls and spam emails, for example) or media harassment (abusive intrusion by the press), among others. Here are some of the main types of harassment:

stalking

It is the persecution arising from an obsession that invades the victim’s intimacy, including insistent contact by phone and the internet.

Bullying

Most common practice in the school environment, bullying is the practice of violent, intentional and repeated acts to cause harm to the victim. “In bullying there is a systematic intimidation of the individual, usually with physical or psychological threats operationalized through acts of public humiliation, coercion and/or discrimination”, emphasizes Elis.

bullying

Moral harassment is exposure to a humiliating and embarrassing situation, whether repetitive or not, which aims to humiliate and coerce the individual. Examples: exhausting daily working hours, controlling the use of restrooms, carrying out vexing group dynamics, applying penalties in a public environment, forcing the employee to resign, removing work tools necessary for the worker’s activities; between others. This type of harassment is quite common in the workplace, but it can also happen in other contexts.

The Commission for Equality in Work and Employment defines moral harassment as follows: harassment is any undesired behavior, namely that based on a factor of discrimination, practiced when accessing employment or in the job itself, work or professional training, with the aim of purpose or effect of disturbing or embarrassing the person, affecting their dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or destabilizing environment.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is any unwanted behavior of a sexual nature, whether verbal, non-verbal or physical, with the aim or effect of disturbing or embarrassing a person, affecting their dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or destabilizing.

Elis emphasizes that sexual harassment can be verified in different ways and in different degrees of severity. “Any type of act of a sexual nature and not previously authorized (without consent) can be considered harassment.” Examples: any type of touch that causes discomfort to the victim (kiss, hug, caress, etc.); the practice of steathing (taking off the condom during the sexual act without the partner knowing); any act that is done after the victim says “no”; coercion/coercion, even verbally; rape; marital rape; Indecent Assault; taking photos or posting them without permission; asking for sexual favors in exchange for any kind of benefit; between others.

How to proceed?

Often, the harassment is so intimidating or subtle that the victim feels coerced not to report it, or even talk to another person about what happened. However, it is important for her to know and seek her rights.

How should a victim of harassment proceed? Who to turn to? What are the victim’s rights? Elis reminds us that anyone, in any environment, can be a victim of harassment. “Anyone is likely to experience harassment, but the incidence of female victims is much higher.”

The victim must seek psychological help, medical care and report the aggressor at any police station, registering a report. “In certain cases the victim can also seek redress in a judicial way, through a lawyer or Public Defender’s Office”, he teaches.

In addition to the person experiencing the harassment, other people (third parties) can also report it. Anyone who has news of the commission of a crime or infraction of any nature can report it.

Elis points out that some people even have a legal obligation to report crimes under penalty of committing a crime by omission.

If you’ve been through a situation of harassment or know someone who is facing one, don’t be afraid to report it. You can do so by calling 180, the Assistance Center for Women in Situations of Violence, and 190, the Military Police.