Post by .-Deny-. on Mar 21, 2006 4:14:58 GMT -8
People who harass other people. This gets under my skin..People who cannot let go, and feel the need to stalk others..
So what exactly is harassment? Is it legal? Read on..
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Harassment is a crime. If proven, depending on the severity and frequency of the conduct and the harasser's prior criminal record, harassment can be punishable as either a gross misdemeanor or a felony. Harassment can mean many things. It can refer to the actions of a person (or group) who is repeatedly sending you threatening letters, calling you on the phone, repeated text messages, or repeatedly sending you unwanted gifts. It can also involve behavior such as following you, watching you, and coming to your place of work or home. This behavior is commonly referred to as "stalking". Harassment can also include intentionally exposing you to materials which the harasser knows, or has reason to know, are culturally offensive or intimidating to you.
It is not necessary that the harasser intend for the conduct to produce feelings of fear or intimidation in the victim, only that the harasser has reason to know that the conduct would cause such feelings. In some instances, harassment results from infatuation or romantic obsession. The harasser does not intend for the behavior to make the victim fearful; the harasser is trying to prove "love" for the victim. The law now reflects the understanding that, regardless of the motivation for the conduct, it disrupts the victim's life and may threaten the victim's safety.
The law which allows you to get a restraining order defines harassment as "repeated, intrusive or unwanted acts, words or gestures that are intended to adversely affect the safety, security or privacy of another, regardless of the relationship between the actor and the intended target." (M.S. § 609.749, Subd. I)
Criminal harassment is defined as "engag(ing) in intentional conduct which the actor [harasser] knows or has reason to know would cause the victim, under the circumstances, to feel frightened, threatened, oppressed, persecuted, or intimidated; and causes this reaction on the part of the victim. (M.S. § 609.749, Subd. I). Such conduct can include following or pursuing you, returning to your property without your consent, making repeated phone calls, repeating text messages, inducing you to make calls, causing your phone to repeatedly ring, repeatedly mailing or delivering unwanted letters, objects, or gifts to you.