What Activities Constitute Harassment?

Harassment, which is not welcomed by the recipient, falls into into four types of behavior:

1. Physical: touching in a sexual manner, pinching, rubbing up against, gestures, assault.

2. Verbal: jokes of a racial, ethnic, or sexual nature; comments or questions about a person's body, dress, or personal life, using demeaning or inappropriate terms; using crude and offensive language of a sexual nature, name-calling or racial or ethnic slurs; demeaning comments about age, disability, or sexual orientation.

3. Visual: cartoons, drawings, or caricatures of a racial, ethnic, or sexual nature; pin-up pictures or calendars; displaying sexual objects in offices or rental units. Electronic messages or e-mail are frequently used for inappropriate personal messages, or to distribute jokes and cartoons that are offensive. Even after these messages are deleted on the computer, they can be retrieved to use as evidence of harassment.

4. Hazing: teasing, practical jokes of a sexual, racial or ethnic nature, ostracizing, starting or spreading rumorabout a person's personal life or sexual activities.