What is the Difference Between Harassment and Victimisation

The main difference between harassment and victimisation is that harassment is the intentional act of annoying, threatening, intimidating, or causing fear in another person while victimisation happens when someone receives less favourable treatment because he/she helped someone who was being harassed or because she/he has complained about harassment or discrimination.

Harassment and victimisation are two occurrences that can make your workplace unpleasant and hostile. Both are related to discrimination and are punishable by law.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Harassment
– Definition, Characteristics
2. What is Victimisation
– Definition, Characteristics
3. Difference Between Harassment and Victimisation
– Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Discriminations, Harassment, Victimisation

What is Harassment

Harassment is the intentional act of annoying, threatening, intimidating, or causing fear in another person. Unwanted behavior that offends, degrades, or threatens another person can also be termed harassment. This type of behavior causes a hostile environment. Actions and behavior such as offensive comments, improper propositions, slurs, assault, physically impeding or blocking behavior, etc., fall under harassment. In this digital age, harassment can also take the form of offensive mail, images and graffiti, as well as comments on social media or websites.

Harassment is also a form of discrimination. It is punishable by law. A person may discriminate against another and harass him/her on the basis of various characteristics. In law, these are called protected characteristics. These include age, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy. Moreover, harassment can occur in any place; it could be a public place, the victim’s workplace, or even at home. Sexual harassment is harassment that involves the making of unwanted sexual advances or obscene remarks. However, mostly, women experience this harassment. In addition, it can occur in a workplace, or other professional or social situation.

What is Victimisation

Victimisation is similar to harassment and discrimination. In a general context, the term victimisation refers to becoming a victim. A victim is someone who suffers directly or threatened harm (physical, mental, or financial harm) as a result of an action by another. In a legal context, victimisation is a situation where you receive less favourable treatment because you have helped someone who was being harassed or because you have complained about harassment or discrimination.

Ideally, in a workplace, you should not suffer repercussions from your employers or colleagues for complaining about harassment or discrimination. Employers also have no right to disciple or dismiss employees who complain about harassment. Sometimes, you may face victimisation even before you lodge a complaint regarding harassment. Your employers or colleagues, or the one responsible for harassment, may suspect you are considering complaining and may mistreat you accordingly. Thus, we can consider this also as a situation of victimisation.

Difference Between Harassment and Victimisation

Definition

Harassment is the intentional act of annoying, threatening, intimidating, or causing fear in another person while victimisation is a situation where someone receives less favourable treatment because he/she has helped someone who was being harassed or because she/he has complained about harassment or discrimination.

Protected Characteristics

The victim of harassment may show one or more protected characteristics, but in victimisation, the victim does not necessarily have to have protected characteristics.

Conclusion

The main difference between harassment and victimisation is that harassment is the intentional act of annoying, threatening, intimidating, or causing fear in another person while victimisation happens someone receives less favourable treatment because he/she has helped someone who was being harassed or because she/he has complained about harassment or discrimination.