A translation of material from the "Bureau d’intervention en matiere de harcelement".
Harassment is a form of violence which aims at making the person harassed terrified and insecure so that she/ he may do what the harasser wants (this would be mainly at the sexual level). However, harassment is not confined to the realm of sexuality, as it may aim at denigrating the person harassed, or negating her/his way of existing (e.g. hurtful comments in the work space, and racist attitudes). Harassment does not necessarily come from a person who has a superior status to the person harassed, though that may be the case. It may also occur among colleagues, classmates, etc.
There are three kinds of harassment:
1- Psychological harassment
2- Discriminatory harassment
3- Sexual harassment
1- Psychological harassment:
This kind of harassment may result from a certain behavior, repeated gestures and acts, or words that the person harassed sees as hostile and undesirable. What makes these acts a form of harassment is the way they endanger the dignity, as well as psychological and physical integrity of the person harassed, and turn her/ his work space or study space into hell. It is to be noted, here, that a single harassment act entailing these devastating effects is also considered as harassment (i.e. harassment does not necessarily involve some repeated annoying behavior) and the person harassed, in that case, can file a complaint against the harasser. Psychological harassment is the broadest type of harassment. It includes both the discriminatory and sexual kinds of harassment described below.
2- Discriminatory Harassment:
Discriminatory harassment is any violation of The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. This Charter prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, age, religion, political attitudes, language, ethnic or national background, social condition, physical disabilities and the means used to overcome them.
3- Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment is one manifestation of discriminatory harassment. An act of sexual harassment consists in words, gestures, or certain forms of behavior that are undesirable to the person harassed. What gives this behavior the harassment status, however, is the fact that the harasser knows that he/ she is indulging in gestures, acts, etc. that are humiliating and undesirable to the person harassed.
In some cases, this kind of harassment may evolve into some criminal harassment.
Art. 264 of the Criminal Code defines criminal harassment as follows:
Criminal harassment consists in constantly following a person, and trying to talk to him/ her. Watching the house of the person harassed, and threatening him/ her are two instances of this harassment. This behavior makes the person harassed justifiably fear for his/ her security and that of his/ her family or those immediately related to him/ her.
What can be considered as harassment?
Intimidation, threats, verbal violence, blackmail
Kissing or caressing a person against his/ her will.
Commentaries that may ruin the reputation of a person, repeated insinuations, and unfounded accusations
Insults, constant attempts at excluding or isolating a person
Unwanted physical proximity
Incessant invitations despite the other person’s prior objections
Tracking someone constantly, waiting for him/ her, etc.
Undesirable sexual advances accompanied or not by threats or promises—explicit be they or implicit.
Racist or discriminatory comments as well as offensive jokes
Questions, suggestions or remarks on the sexual life of a person.
What are the consequences of harassment at the personal level?
A gradual deterioration of the physical and mental well-being of the person harassed:
Dwindling self-esteem, lack of confidence in oneself as well as in others
Isolation, exclusion, a certain feeling of powerlessness
Fear, suspicion of others, culpability, shame
Physical problems: headaches, backaches, digestion problems, etc.
Nervousness, anxiety, depression, burn out
Concentration problems, insomnia
Lack of motivation for one’s work or studies
The consequences of harassment at the level of the work place:
Gradual deterioration of the quality of the work place or that of the study place:
Loss of interest in one’s studies
Devastating consequences on social cohesion and the consequent formation of clans
Hostile and tense study or work place
Worsening working conditions
Increase of stress for witnesses of harassment acts
Gradual worsening of one’s performance at school
Increasing absence from the work or study space
Damaging the reputation of the establishment
Worsening of the services offered
Extreme cases: suicide or homicide
What can I do, if I am victim of harassment?
Say to yourself that you do not accept the attitude of the person who harasses you and that he/ she does not have as much power as he/ she appears to have.
Tell the harasser clearly that his/ her behavior is intimidating, offensive, or humiliating
You could do this orally (it would be better, if you did this in front of a witness) or just write a letter to your harasser (keep a copy of it).
Do not blame yourself. The harasser is responsible for his/ her acts.
Talk about this harassment experience to someone you trust. You could also try to remedy the psychological repercussions of this experience by seeking the advice of the Programme d’aide aux personnels, Service d’orientation et de consulation psychologique, etc.
Take detailed note of the circumstances of the harassment act: date, time, place, names of witnesses, the gestures made by the harasser, the words he/ she uttered, your feelings, your reactions, the person to whom you have spoken about this.
Keep all the proofs carefully.
Talk to the Bureau d’intervention en matiere de harcelement, your society, your employers (in case you work on campus).
What can I do, if the person harassed confides in me?
Take seriously whatever you hear or see:
Do not trivialize the facts. Do not blame the person harassed.
Do not hesitate to say that the attitude of the person harassed is unacceptable.
Tell the person harassed that she/ he does not have to put up with the insolent behavior of the harasser, as the university of Montreal has adopted strict politics against harassment that protect anyone from such an assault on one’s physical and psychological integrity.
Suggest to the person harassed that he/ she talk to the people at the Bureau d’intervention en matiere de harcelement, or that she/ he talk to a person in charge in whom he/ she trusts.
If you are a person in charge/ you have an authority of sorts, your duty is to put an end to that harassement.
Remember that the help you offer the person harassed will help him/ her find some way out of his/ her problem.
Quebec Laws and harassment:
The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms prohibits all forms of harassment based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, marital status, age, religion, political attitudes, language, ethnic or national background, social conditions, physical disabilities and the means used to overcome them.
The Civil Code of Quebec as well as la Loi sur la Sante et la Securite du Travail clearly state one’s rights and duties, as far as harassement is concerned. As for those forms of harassment that violate the Criminal Code, a clear account of them is to be found in the latter.
The right to a harassment-free work place (psychological harassment in particular) is underlined by the La Loi sur Les norms du travail.
The university of Montreal has adopted a clear politics against harassment aiming at creating a harassment-free campus.
The place to go to, if one feels that one is being harassed:
Le Bureau d’intervention en matiere de harcelement
Tel : (514) 343-7020
Website : www.harcelement.umontreal.ca
Email: harcelement@umontreal.ca
If your case is rather urgent, you may call the university security people: (514) 343-7771
Why does one go to this “bureau”?
To get important info and advice (case-specific).
To ask for the bureau’s intervention in your work/ study space
To file a complaint.
Acknowledgment:
This is my translation of the leaflet of the bureau d’intervention en matiere de harcelement.
Hajer Ben Gouider Trabelsi
