What is Harassment?

Definition of Harassment

Harassment is the legal and technical term for "harassment" or "bullying".

It is a broad concept that serves as an umbrella for many other forms of cyberbullying.

It is defined as a pattern of deliberate and repeated online behavior directed at a specific person that makes them feel threatened, intimidated, distressed or humiliated, and that has no legitimate purpose.

Harassment is the "purest" form of cyberbullying. It is neither a mutual fight (flaming) nor an impersonal provocation (trolling).

It is the systematic act of an aggressor (or group) against a victim.

It includes the persistent sending of insulting, threatening or harassing messages, either in public (comments) or in private (direct messages).

The Persistent and Unidirectional Nature of Harassment

The key to harassment is persistence. It is not an isolated insult. It is the constant "drip" that undermines the victim's mental health.

The aggressor bombards the victim through multiple channels: he sends her direct messages on Instagram, then writes to her on WhatsApp, then comments on her TikTok profile, and if blocked, creates a new account to continue the harassment.

It is fundamentally one-way. The victim has not requested the interaction, does not want it, and has often explicitly asked the aggressor to stop.

The continuation of messages after a request to stop is irrefutable proof of harassment.

The aggressor enjoys the power that comes from knowing that the victim cannot escape his or her digital presence.

Harassment vs. cyberstalking

Harassment and cyberstalking are closely related and often used interchangeably, but have a legal nuance.

Harassment focuses on the psychological impact: humiliation, distress and insult. Its aim is the moral destruction of the victim.

Cyberstalking is a form of harassment, but adds a key component: a credible threat of physical harm.

Cyberstalking involves a pursuit that suggests that the aggressor might take his or her harassment into the real world.

It includes phrases