Sexual harassment that is ignored tends to escalate. It is important to inform the harasser that the attention is unwanted. Both the accuser and the harasser must think of the behavior as sexual harassment before it can be considered illegal. It is only the perspective of the person who is harassed that determines illegality. Harassment occurs when a person pressures another person with unwanted sexual behavior.
All men are harassers.
Only a few men harass. Often, one man harasses a number of women either sequentially or simultaneously or both. It is not sexual harassment unless a person is touched. Prolonged staring, lewd comments, sexually oriented compliments, and inappropriate displays or sharing of pornography are also harassment. Copyright 2000 Murray State University.