Defining harassment Harassment is any unwanted behaviour that offends or humiliates. More commonly, harassment involves a series of unwanted, often subtle, incidents over a period of time. A hostile work environment Harassment creates a hostile or poisoned work atmoshpere. It can affect a victim's personal life and interfere with the quality of their work. Many victims live with the threat of being forced out of a job, fired, denied promotions or other work-related benefits.
Harassment undermines a person's self-esteem.
It can lead to a wide range of stress-related illnesses. Harassment is an abuse of power Victims often feel intimidated, humiliated and degraded. It is not harmless, funny or trivial. It is discrimination. It is against the law.