Harassment
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'''Harassment''' refers to a wide spectrum of offensive behaviour. The term commonly refers to behaviour intended to be disturbing, and, when the term is used in a legal sense, it refers to behaviours which ''are'' found threatening or disturbing. [[Sexual harassment]] refers to persistent and unwanted sexual advances, typically in the workplace, where the consequences of refusing are potentially very disadvantageous to the victim.
==Etymology==
The word is recorded in English since circa 1618 as loan word from the French ''harassement'', which was in turn already attested in 1572 meaning ''torment, annoyance, bother, trouble'' <ref>J. Amyot, Œuvres morales, p. 181</ref> and later as of 1609 was also referred to ''the condition of being exhausted, overtired''<ref>M. Lescarbot, Histoire de la Nouvelle France, I, 479</ref><ref>Etymology of [http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/harassement harassement] in the French etymologic dictionary CNRTL (in French)</ref>. Of the French verb ''harasser'' itself we have first records in a Latin to French translation of 1527 of [[Thucydides]]’ [[History of the Peloponnesian War|History of the war that was between the Peloponnesians and the Athenians both in the countries of the Greeks and the Romans and the neighbouring places]] where the translator writes ''harasser'' allegedly meaning ''harceler'' (to exhaust the enemy by repeated raids); and in the military chant Chanson du franc archer<ref>The original [http://books.google.de/books?id=hMUFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=%22Chanson+du+franc+archer+%22+&source=web&ots=F80UMk0A17&sig=vfOYYDexxIUL2TQgl1cdcaPOpTo&hl=de&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA33,M1 text] of the chant</ref> of 1562, where the term is referred to a gaunt jument (''de poil fauveau, tant maigre et harassée'': of fawn horsehair, so meagre and …) where it is supposed that the verb is used meaning ''overtired''.<ref>Etymology of [http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/harasser harasser] in the French etymologic dictionary CNRTL (in French)</ref>
A hypothesis about the origin of the verb ''harasser'' is ''harace''/''harache'', which was used in the 14th century in expressions like ''courre a la harache'' (to pursue) and ''prendre aucun par la harache'' (to take somebody under constraint). The Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, a German etymological dictionary of the French language (1922-2002) compares phonetically and syntactically both ''harace'' and ''harache'' to the interjection ''hare'' and ''haro'' by alleging a pejorative and augmentative form. The latter was an exclamation indicating distress and emergency (recorded since 1180) but is also reported later in 1529 in the expression ''crier haro sur'' (to arise indignation over somebody). ''hare'' 's use is already reported in 1204 as an order to finish public activities as fairs or markets and later (1377) still as command but referred to dogs. This dictionary suggests a relation of ''haro''/''hare'' with the old lower franconian ''*hara'' (here) (as by bringing a dog to heel). <ref>Etymology of [http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/haro haro]</ref>
While the pejorative of an exclamation and in particular of such an exclamation is theoretically possible for the first word (''harace'') and maybe phonetically plausible for ''harache'', a semantic, syntactic and phonetic similarity of the verb ''harasser'' as used in the first popular attestation (the chant mentioned above) with the word ''haras'' should be kept in mind: Already in 1160 ''haras'' indicated a group of horses constrained together for the purpose of reproduction and in 1280 it also indicated the enclosure facility itself, where those horses are constrained<ref>Etymology of [http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/haras haras]</ref>. The origin itself of ''haras'' is thought to be the old Scandinavian ''hârr'' with the Romanic suffix –as, which meant ''grey or dimmish horsehair''. Controversial is the etymological relation to the Arabic word for ''horse'' whose roman [[Romanization of Arabic|transliteration]] is [[Arabian horse|faras]].
Although the French origin of the word ''harassment'' is beyond all question, in the [[Oxford English Dictionary]] and those dictionaries basing on it a supposed Old French verb ''harer'' should be the origin of the French verb ''harasser'', despite the fact that this verb cannot be found in French etymologic dictionaries like that of the [[:fr:Centre national de ressources textuelles et lexicales]] or the [[:fr:Trésor de la langue française informatisé]] (see also their corresponding websites as indicated in the interlinks); since the entry further alleges a derivation from ''hare'', like in the mentioned German etymological dictionary of the French language a possible misprint of ''harer'' = ''har/ass/er'' = ''harasser'' is plausible or cannot be excluded. In those dictionaries the relationship with ''harassment'' were an interpretation of the interjection ''hare'' as ''to urge/set a dog on'', despite the fact that it should indicate a shout to come and not to go (''hare'' = ''hara'' = ''here''; cf. above)<ref>Etymology of [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/harassment harassment] in OED related [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=harass&searchmode=phrase harass]dictionaries, like the [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harassment Merriam Webster]</ref>. The American Heritage Dictionary prudently indicates this origin only as possible.
== History ==
===United States===
In 1964, the United States Congress passed Title VII of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights Act]], , prohibiting discrimination at work on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin and sex. This later became the legal basis for early harassment law. The practice of developing workplace guidelines prohibiting harassment was pioneered in 1969, when the U.S. Department of Defense drafted a Human Goals Charter, establishing a policy of equal respect for both sexes. In ''[[Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson]],'' {{ussc|477|57|1986}}: the U.S. Supreme Court recognized harassment suits against employers for promoting a sexually hostile work environment. In 2006, U.S.A. President [[George W. Bush]] signed a law which prohibited the transmission of annoying messages over the [[Internet]] (''[[aka]]'' [[Spam (electronic)|spamming]]) without disclosing the sender's true identity.<ref>[[Declan McCullagh]]. [http://news.com.com/Create+an+e-annoyance,+go+to+jail/2010-1028_3-6022491.html Create an e-annoyance, go to jail]. CNET news. January 9, 2006 </ref>
===[[Canada]]===
In 1984, the [[Canadian Human Rights Act]] prohibited sexual harassment in workplaces under federal jurisdiction.
===United Kingdom===
In the UK there are a number of laws protecting people from harassment including the [[Protection from Harassment Act 1997]], and the [[Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994]]. For a fuller description of the laws on harassment in the UK see [[Harassment (UK)|this page]].
== Ambiguity ==
Both because the term is used in common English, and because where the term is defined by law, the law varies by [[jurisdiction]], it is difficult to provide any exact definition that is accepted everywhere.
In some cultures, for instance, simply stating a [[politics|political opinion]] can be seen as unwarranted and a deliberate attempt to intimidate — in a [[totalitarian]] society any such statement could be interpreted as an attempt to involve someone in [[rebel]] activity or implicate them in same, with the implication that if they refuse, they are putting their own life in danger. More usually, some label such as "[[anti-social]]" or related to [[treason]] is used to label such behaviour — it being treated as an offense against the state not the person. This resembles the use of [[psychiatry]] to imprison [[dissident]]s which is common in many countries.
Another example is that under some versions of [[Islamic Law]] merely insulting [[Islam]] is considered to be a harassment of all believers, and in [[Japan]] insulting any faith is usually considered taboo and has legal sanctions{{Fact|date=June 2008}}. Because of these variations, there is no way even within one society to provide a truly neutral definition of harassment.
== Categories ==
However, broad categories of harassment often recognized in law include:
* [[Legal harassment]] - Legal actions against an individual or a group, for example [[SLAPP]] suits.
* [[Sexual harassment]] (with a much stricter definition in the workplace)
* [[Psychological harassment]] - repetitive unprovoked intrusions or interruptions
* Group [[psychological]] harassment
* [[Hate speech]] - comments proveably false or irrelevant which express or encourage hate towards a particular group - another legal
==Types of harassments==
There are a number of harassments that fall into this category.
<li>'''[[Bullying]]'''</br>
Harassment that can occur on the playground, school, in the workforce or any other place. Usually physical and psychological harassing behaviour perpetrated against an individual, by one or more persons.
<li>'''Psychological harassment'''</br>
This is humiliating or abusive behaviour that lowers a person’s self-esteem or causes them torment. This can take the form of verbal comments, actions or gestures. Falling into this category is workplace [[mobbing]].
Community Based Harassment - stalking by a group against an individual using repeated distractions that the individual is sensitized to, such as clicking an ink pen.
<li>'''[[Racial harassment]]'''</br>
The targeting of an individual because of their race or ethnicity. The harassment may include words, deeds, and actions that are specifically designed to make the target feel degraded due to their race or ethnicity.
<li>'''Religious harassment'''</br>
Verbal, psychological or physical harassment's used against targets because they choose to practice a specific religion. Religious harassment can also include forced and involuntary conversions.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_terrorism]
<li>'''[[Sexual harassment]]'''</br>
Harassment that can happen anywhere but is most common in the workplace, and schools. It involves unwanted and unwelcome, words, deeds, actions, gestures, symbols, or behaviours of a sexual nature that make the target feel uncomfortable.
Gender and sexual orientation harassment fall into this family.
<li>'''[[Stalking]]'''</br>
The unauthorized following and surveillance of an individual, to the extent that the person's privacy is unacceptably intruded upon, and the victim fears for their safety.
<li>'''[[Mobbing]]'''</br>
Violence committed directly or indirectly by a loosely affiliated and organized group of individuals to punish or even execute a person for some alleged offence without a lawful trial. The 'offense' can range from a serious crime like murder or simple expression of ethnic, cultural, or religious attitudes. The issue of the victim's actual guilt or innocence is often irrelevant to the mob, since the mob relies on contentions that are unverifiable, unsubstantiated, or completely fabricated.
<li>'''[[Hazing]]'''</br>
To persecute, harass, or torture in a deliberate, calculated, planned, manner. Typically the targeted individual is a subordinate, for example, a fraternity pledge, a first-year military cadet, or somebody who is considered 'inferior' or an 'outsider'. Hazing is illegal in many instances.
<li>'''[[Police Harassment]]'''</br>
Unfair treatment conducted by law officials including but not limited to [[excessive force]], [[profiling]], [[Intimidation|threats]], [[coercion]], and racial, ethnic, religious, gender/sexual, age, or other forms of [[discrimination]].
== Colloquial speech ==
In some contexts of colloquial speech, the word "harassment" and its derivatives can mean in a playful manner "bothering". In computer gaming contexts, "harassment" might constitute provocative or annoying actions in the game. Harassment in strategy games may also mean early attacks aimed to stunt an opponent's growth of either economy or technology. In these contexts, the severity of the terminology is much less intense, and does not carry the same connotations as the legal definitions.
==References==
<references />
==See also==
{{wiktionary}}
{{wiktionarypar|Harass}}
* [[Harassment by computer]]
* [[Psychological abuse]]
* [[Psychological warfare]]
* [[Cyber bullying]]
* [[Hazing]]
==External links==
* {{DMOZ|Society/Issues/Violence_and_Abuse/Harassment/}}
[[Category:Abuse]]
[[Category:Rude behavior]]
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[[ru:Домогательство]]
[[simple:Harass]]
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