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harassment

Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Prohibition of harassment- Section 1

(1)A person must not pursue a course of conduct— (a)which amounts to harassment of another, and (b)which he knows or ought to know amounts to harassment of the other. (1A)A person must not pursue a course of conduct — (a)which involves harassment of two or more persons, and (b)which he knows or ought to know involves harassment of those persons, and ©by which he intends to persuade any person (whether or not one of those mentioned above)— (i)not to do something that he is entitled or required to do, or (ii)to do something that he is not under any obligation to do.For the purposes of this section the person whose course of conduct is in question ought to know that it amounts to harassment of another if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct amounted to harassment of the other.

Does not apply to a course of conduct if the person who pursued it shows: (a)that it was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime, (b)that it was pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, or

©that in the particular circumstances the pursuit of the course of conduct was reasonable.

Offence of stalking- Section 2A

(1)A person is guilty of an offence if— (a)the person pursues a course of conduct in breach of section 1, and (b)the course of conduct amounts to stalking. (2)For the purposes of subsection (1)(b) (and section 4A(1)(a)) a person's course of conduct amounts to stalking of another person if— (a)it amounts to harassment of that person, (b)the acts or omissions involved are ones associated with stalking, and ©the person whose course of conduct it is knows or ought to know that the course of conduct amounts to harassment of the other person. (3)The following are examples of acts or omissions which, in particular circumstances, are ones associated with stalking— (a)following a person, (b)contacting, or attempting to contact, a person by any means, ©publishing any statement or other material— (i)relating or purporting to relate to a person, or (ii)purporting to originate from a person, (d)monitoring the use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication, (e)loitering in any place (whether public or private), (f)interfering with any property in the possession of a person, (g)watching or spying on a person.

Putting people in fear of violence- Section 4

(1)A person whose course of conduct causes another to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against him is guilty of an offence if he knows or ought to know that his course of conduct will cause the other so to fear on each of those occasions. (2)For the purposes of this section, the person whose course of conduct is in question ought to know that it will cause another to fear that violence will be used against him on any occasion if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct would cause the other so to fear on that occasion. (3)It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to show that— (a)his course of conduct was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime, (b)his course of conduct was pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, or ©the pursuit of his course of conduct was reasonable for the protection of himself or another or for the protection of his or another’s property.

Stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress-Section 4A

(1)A person (“A”) whose course of conduct—(a)amounts to stalking, and (b)either— (i)causes another (“B”) to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against B, or (ii)causes B serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on B's usual day-to-day activities, is guilty of an offence if A knows or ought to know that A's course of conduct will cause B so to fear on each of those occasions or (as the case may be) will cause such alarm or distress. (2)For the purposes of this section A ought to know that A's course of conduct will cause B to fear that violence will be used against B on any occasion if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct would cause B so to fear on that occasion. (3)For the purposes of this section A ought to know that A's course of conduct will cause B serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on B's usual day-to-day activities if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course of conduct would cause B such alarm or distress. (4)It is a defence for A to show that— (a)A's course of conduct was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime, (b)A's course of conduct was pursued under any enactment or rule of law or to comply with any condition or requirement imposed by any person under any enactment, or ©the pursuit of A's course of conduct was reasonable for the protection of A or another or for the protection of A's or another's property.

harassment.txt · Last modified: 2017/05/09 21:30 by barnaby2015