It can involve conduct which may not necessarily target a particular person but which still affects that individual or group. Federal and state anti-discrimination legislation make harassment unlawful on a number of grounds, including race, sex, age, marital status, pregnancy, sexuality, religious or political views and disability. Sexual harassment is one form of unlawful harassment. Sexual harassment can include such behaviour as unwelcome verbal comments of a sexual nature, unwanted and deliberate physical contact, unwelcome demands for or offers of sexual favours, displaying sexually explicit images or material, offensive jokes or gestures of a sexual nature. Discrimination is where a person is treated less favourably because they belong to a particular group or category of people.
Discrimination can be direct or indirect.
Discrimination on the basis of sex, race, age, marital status, pregnancy, sexuality, religious or political views and disability is unlawful. An example of direct discrimination would be refusing to give someone a job because they were from a particular group. Indirect discrimination occurs when a policy or practice which appears to be neutral or fair results in a particular person or group of people being adversely affected. An example of indirect discrimination would be where a work area has a policy that only people over a certain height are eligible to apply for positions. If this requirement could not be shown to be reasonable, then it may be indirectly discriminatory against women and certain groups of people who tend to be shorter than others.