Defined under section 26 (2) of the Equality Act 2010 sexual harassment includes:
- Any unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating the recipient’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
- Verbal harassment which includes, but is not limited to, whistling, catcalling, sexual comments, sexual innuendo, telling sexual jokes, spreading rumours about someone’s sex life. Or it can include nonverbal harassment which includes, but is not limited to, looking someone up and down, displaying pictures of a sexual nature, making sexual gestures, and sending emails containing sexual content.
- ‘Revenge porn’ as defined under Section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. This is the disclosing of private photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
- Stalking which is persistent and unwanted attention (in person or online) which makes you feel fearful, harassed or anxious.
What should I do if I or someone I know has experienced / is experiencing sexual harassment?
Find out what support is available.