16 January, 2020
Unfortunately, where there are many setups these days in our community that provide us with facilities and keep us safe from threats and harmful personalities still, we face harassing attacks almost every day. Harassment attacks are on the rise, no matter which country you pick up and see. They are administered in several forms and are so destructive that they terminate a victim’s peace and tranquility for good. These acts can make a person feel discomfort, hurt or mentally unstable. Some laws can let the harassers serve punishment but we don’t see these barbarians getting punished in any way. This could be because maybe the complaint isn’t being appropriately registered and seen through to the end. If you have been suffering from harassment with your daily life in misery, you need to make sure to get justice for being harmed and relieve yourself of the daily stress of being beleaguered by someone. The following is a useful guide on how you can use the laws to bring a probable harasser to justice and make your life easier.
What Act Can Be Considered Harassment
There are several ways you a harasser can be said to trouble you in whether in a criminal setting or a civil one. When you think you’re getting harassed, see if you feel these at the moment, stress, threatened, annoy, or anger of the act. If you believe that your daily life is being influenced by an individual that has made his/her daily habit of being present in your life through any means to make it worse, then you’re for sure being harassed.
An aggravation can happen to you in a number of settings and in several situations. A setting could be of your workplace, home, or a public site. And a situation can be that that harasser has a grudge against you, intensely likes you, has delusions that you want them, is your ex-spouse with the mindset that they own you, they are anti-racial, anti-religion or sexist. Whatever the case, a harassment is a harassment and should never be taken lightly. There are several cases that we see every day of harassment turn into a murder or end with the victim getting badly hurt. If you have been experiencing even slight harassment, taking precautions and legal actions are your duty to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Types of Harassment Charges
Harassment can be committed in different types, and harassers keep finding new ways to torture people each day. These new ways could also be associated with the use of the internet, as we have seen many examples of them.
Stalking
Do you get a feeling that you’re being followed every time you step out of your home or work? You may be getting stalked. Being stalked online means that your online account is checked and you receive messages and emails each day to make you feel uncomfortable.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a prevalent issue these days with easy methods to stalk somebody on the net and send them harmful content and mails to make their life uneasy. Not only that but a harasser can find ways to gather compelling content against you to post it online for everybody to view.
Hate Crimes
Although we live in the modern age and have left behind the ways of the uneducated, we still discriminate and harass people merely due to the other party having a different color, religion, race, impairment or gender.
Sexual Harassment
This type of harassment can be the most harmful mentally and can have a victim with complicated mental problems. Sexual harassment can happen at work or a home environment or even outside. It can happen verbally in the form of a comment, physically by touch, or exposing implicit content in front of the victim.
Psychological
An individual can feel mentally agitated by verbal harassment that is diverted directly to the mind. It can involve challenging comments and ignoring the presence of a person.
Personal
In the workplace, you can get harassed personally by discrimination or intimidation by an individual of a higher post. Someone that makes your life or work like hell is probably harassing you to put you down.
How to Press Charges
If you have identified that you are being severely harassed that your everyday life is getting influenced by it, you can take action to protect yourself from any serious harm. If a harassment activity is seen to be escalating quickly to bring you destruction, you need to call the authorities as soon as possible. In case you face harassment or abuse as a daily routine, you can call the police and alert them to show up as soon as the other party begins the destructive activity. This way the offender can go to jail and serve his/her punishment quickly. However, making a phone call at the situation can be difficult for some people. For them, they can directly visit the police station and file a report of the harasser. The police will be acknowledged to it and may take actions if necessary or provide you with reinforcements to protect yourself. In the instance that the harasser prevails their doing, you can consult with the police again and seek help from the court.
Accumulate Evidence
Harassers are people that are not skilled at committing crimes, and thus they do not make assurances to take care of the evidence. This can work in your defense as you can gather evidence on their implicating acts. You can start collecting compelling evidence against your offender and also present it to the authorities when you call them or visit yourself to get actions taken on the harasser.
Make Visits to the Prosecutor
After you’ve dealt with the police, the next step will be that you will be contacted by a prosecutor set by the officer you reported to your case. When your issue prevails and the police can’t do anything to arrest the harasser without evidence, a prosecutor can help you get justice. Your prosecutor will help take you to court and press charges on your offender. The harasser will be asked to come to court and your prosecutor will press charges on them. If they don’t plead guilty, you may have to attest for yourself in court.
Hire a Lawyer
A case taken to court can become complicated, often with the offender leaving without getting penalties. In times like these, you can call your lawyer to support you. A reliable attorney from firms like Van Nuys Criminal Lawyer can defend you vigorously in court. They have the required expertise, knowledge and experience to guide you safely, taking you through the eviction of your criminal.
Claim a Restraining Order
Getting a restraining order can be your best bet to have the one who causes you discomfort to stay away from you. You can do this by going to court and asking for a form to fill and submit with the court. Supply them with some evidence and make sure to fill the form out well. The court may call you and the harasser to court for a hearing. Although you can get a temporary restraining order on them but if the evidence doesn’t support and the harasser claims not guilty, then you may not get a permanent restraining order. Your case can become complicated and then hiring a lawyer can be your best bet.
Penalties for Harassment Charges
Harassers are the lowest people that they take to annoy and make peoples like difficult to live and may have them feel inferior about themselves and can eventually drive them to commit suicide. Thankfully, there are legal actions to bring them to justice and have them never be able to contact their victims ever again. Even if they do, they are to face even more significant penalties. A harassment act can be ruled as a misdemeanor or a felony. As a misdemeanor is a less severe charge than a felony, there will be lesser of a fine and sentence but they will be prohibited from contacting the victim ever again. Misdemeanor acts can include ones that can make you uncomfortable or in distress for your safety. While a felony harassment crime can involve an individual to face a penalty for physically or mentally harming the victim or causing them death.
Keep Yourself Safe
Going through harassment and then court trials can be draining and mentally exhausting. You need to take care of yourself in the process of getting justice not to let the offender leave without getting their penalty. You need to stand firm in front of the one that victimized you to give them an image that they can't mess with you again or they made a mistake to do it in the first place. Consult a psychologist to assist you in the process and after it too to save yourself from devastating aftereffects of the harassments. If you feel like you shouldn’t or won't be able to face the harasser in the court, you can ask your prosecutor or hire a lawyer to make claims in your stead to save you from reliving the upsetting memories.
I'm Harry Wilson, a senior digital marketing consultant at Globex Outreach. Writing is my part-time hobby because I get to share my experience with the world. Professionally, I help map out a flawless digital marketing plan for the clients at my firm.
