QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — “Hey baby you have a nice body. Are you single?”
This may be a usual scenario in our everyday lives. It may sound like an ordinary compliment, but by definition, it is actually already a form of harassment.
So what is harassment?
According to the ever-reliable Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to harass means either one of two things: (1) to annoy or bother (someone) in a constant or repeated way; (2) to create an unpleasant or hostile situation for someone especially by uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical conduct.
Most people believe that sexual harassment is the only type of harassment that they can complain about to the proper authorities. There are, however, other types of harassment that you can encounter, perhaps unknowingly, in your workplace, school or elsewhere.
Racial harassment
Examples of racially motivated actions and behavior include inappropriate questioning about the racial or ethnic origin of a person. It may involve, among others, offensive graffiti, and intimidating behavior such as threatening gestures.
Harassment by virtue of one’s individuality
Some may argue that “bullying” is the umbrella term for any form of harassment. In this writeup, though, we refer to bullying as the act of harassment of the individuality of a person. Children who are bullied for instance are subjects of unmerited criticism, isolation, and gossip, and become recipients of behavioral acts that are intimidating or demeaning just because they are who they are.
Harassment by virtue of one’s disability
Those who undermine the dignity of people with disabilities resort to a discussion of the effects of a disability on an individual’s personal life, and to inappropriate questioning about the impact of that disability, among others.
Harassment by virtue of one’s age
Those who are resort to harassment by virtue of someone’s age subject that person to derogatory age-related remarks and unjustifiable dismissal of suggestions on the grounds of the age of the person.
Stalking
Stalkers may harass for a number of reasons, but the most common is this–that their love for another person is unrequited. They therefore resort to leaving repeated or alarming messages on Facebook or threatening emails, to following people home, or approaching co-workers to ask for personal information.
Religious harassment
Verbal, psychological or physical harassment of a person by virtue of his or her religion is also a no-no. Apart from physical abuse, religious harassment can also include forced and involuntary conversions.
Sexual harassment
Harassment by virtue of one’s sex is most common in the workplace and schools. It involves the resort to unwanted and unwelcome words, deeds, actions, gestures, symbols, or behaviors of a sexual nature. Gender and sexual orientation harassment fall into this family. The main focus of groups working against sexual harassment has been the protection of women, but the protection of men from sexual harassment by other genders has also been coming to light as an advocacy in recent years.
Last year, the Quezon City government passed an ordinance to reduce cat-calling and other forms of street-level sexual harassment against women.
People who will be caught making disparaging remarks against women, who stalk women and cat-call around the city will be fined from P1,000 to P5,000 and jailed from one day to one year.
“Quezon City is the first city in Metro Manila to impose fines, penalties, and imprisonment for making catcalls,” City administrator Aldrin Cuña said in an interview.
“Harassing a woman or a girl in public… catcalling, when one calls you ‘Miss Beautiful’ or says ‘let me kiss you’ or ‘you are sexy’ – these already comprise slight offenses,” Cuña added.
He advised women who are being harassed to file their complaints with the women’s desk of any nearby police station.
(written and researched by Jodi Bustos, edited by Jay Paul Carlos)