What is threatening, unwanted or inappropriate behaviour?

Sexual harassment is never OK. If this has happened to you, help is available.

Take you or someone you know been experiencing or take experienced unwanted, threatening or inappropriate behaviour?

Have you lot seen someone experiencing unwanted, threatening or inappropriate behaviour, including bullying?

Unwanted, threatening or inappropriate behaviour is not OK. It's not OK to behave this way. It'south not OK to be treated this way.

What is unlawful behaviour?

Unlawful behaviour includes:

  • sexual assault
  • sexual harassment and discrimination
  • stalking
  • human relationship or domestic violence.

Sexual assail

Sexual Attack is a full general term used to describe a broad range of sexual crimes committed against a person.

These crimes include sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated sexual assault, indecent assail and acts of indecency (these offences by and large involve inappropriate touching, including genitals or other intimate areas or forcing a person to touch on the genitals or intimate areas of another person). An offence is aggravated if there is a threat, whether bodily or unsaid, or it is done in the company of other people, or is committed upon a person under a sure age or under potency of a person (instructor/relative/carer) or involves the utilise of a weapon, forcefulness or threat. Sexual Set on is a crime of violence. It aims to humiliate and degrade the victim and can occur within marriage. It can be a frightening feel that may accept long term effects. These furnishings occur regardless of a person's age, gender, status, culture, ability or sexuality.

Definitions and helpful links

Other unlawful conduct of a sexual nature includes:

Indecent attack is touching (or the threat to impact) a person's body in a sexual mode without their consent by another person. For example information technology can include unwanted touching of a person's breast, lesser or genitals.

Act of Indecency is when a person does something of a sexual nature with or towards some other person or makes the person exercise something of a sexual nature towards them. For example, it tin include the offender masturbating in front of another person.

See the Victims Services' commonly used legal terms.

More than information nearly adult sexual assault is available from NSW Law Community Problems.

What is 'without consent'?

Sexual attack occurs when someone is unable to and/or does not give consent.

The constabulary says that a person is unable to give consent when:

  • comatose or unconscious
  • significantly intoxicated or affected past drugs
  • unable to understand what they are consenting to due to their age or intellectual chapters
  • intimidated, coerced or threatened
  • unlawfully detained or held against their will
  • they submit due to the person beingness in a position of trust.

Sometimes people say NO to having sex in a non-verbal way, like:

  • not being enthusiastic about what is happening
  • lying really still, not talking, not looking at you or participating in touching
  • turning, moving or looking away
  • crying, being upset.

Sometimes people are considered unable to give consent even if they say 'yes'. For example, when the person is:

  • drug or alcohol affected
  • asleep, unconscious or semi-conscious
  • being threatened, constrained, made to, pressured to, or forced to have sex (This can include fear of being hurt, or hurting the other person'southward feelings, if they don't accept sex activity.)
  • tricked or deceived (agreed to one sexual act that turned into something they didn't agree to)
  • not understanding what they said 'yes' to
  • thinking that they cannot say 'no'
  • under aged — in NSW, it is unlawful to have sexual activity with anyone under xvi years onetime — fifty-fifty if they say yes to having sexual practice. See more about this at Lawstuff Australia — know your rights.

What is 'consent'?

Consent is given when a person freely and voluntarily agrees to sexual intercourse.

When you requite your consent to have sex with someone information technology ways that you experience entirely comfortable having sex or engaging in other sexual acts with that person. Consent can exist:

  • exact — maxim yes, okay, let'south do information technology
  • physical — nodding your caput, touching, kissing, actively participating
  • emotional — it is not ever as straight forward as someone explicitly saying yep.

Or, 'NO' tin exist meant when someone says, 'I'grand not sure', 'I don't actually desire to', 'Not right now', or 'I don't similar it'.

The all-time mode to be sure if someone consents to sexual intercourse with you is to ASK!

Then, during sexual intercourse, ask your partner, 'Are yous ok?', 'Do you want to go along going?' or 'Are y'all comfortable?'

All the same unsure about what 'consent' means?

Watch 'Consent — it'southward simple as tea'
(Copyright ©2015 Emmeline May and Blue Seat Studios, published on thirteen May 2015)

Read more than most the meaning of consensual sex activity.

Sexual harassment and discrimination

Stalking

Stalking is a crime. Under theCrime (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007, stalking includes following a person nearly or watching or frequenting the vicinity of, or a person'southward place of residence, work or any place that a person frequents for any action.

Stalking involves a persistent course of acquit or actions past a person which are intended to maintain contact with or exercise power and command over another person. These actions cause distress, loss of control, fear or harassment to some other person and occur more than one time.

It can involve threats or sexual innuendo and the stalker generally tries to intimidate or induce fear in the person they are stalking. The person being stalked may only realise they are being stalked one time they place a pattern of strange or suspicious incidents occurring, such as:

  • phone calls, text messages, messages left on a phone
  • messages left on social networking sites
  • notes left on their car
  • flowers left at their dwelling house
  • an awareness that they are being followed
  • existence continually stared at by another person.

The person being stalked often develops a sense of loss of control over their lives and is forced into changing their life routine and behaviours.

Stalking is committed when a person:

  • intentionally and persistently
  • without a legitimate reason
  • engages in a course of conduct directed at another specific person
  • against their will
  • causes the other person to fright, or to believe, that harm would come to them.

But, this means that any intentional actions the stalker takes to put you in fear can be considered stalking when it occurs more than than once and against your will.

See the NSW Police Force'southward information about 'What is stalking?'.

Relationship and domestic violence

Decision-making and violent relationships

In that location are many types of domestic and family violence. It is trigger-happy, abusive or intimidating behaviour by a partner, carer or family member to control, boss or cause fearfulness. It doesn't take to be physical abuse. Information technology tin can be emotional, psychological, fiscal, sexual or other types of corruption and can include fauna abuse targeting pets, and damaging personal or joint property.

Information technology tin can affect anyone in the community, regardless of gender, sexual identity, race, age, culture, ethnicity, faith, disability, economical status or location.

The offender knows the affected person intimately through a long-term, close or developing human relationship and relies on developing, during the early stages, a stiff bond through friendship, love, trust and loyalty to create a loftier degree of co-dependence.

The underlying behavioural traits of power and control are then used to control and abuse the affected person.

The more than times the offender abuses, the greater the likelihood the affected partner becomes vulnerable to further abuse and violence.

This can consequence in the affected person feeling of fearful, guilt, anxiety, depression self-esteem, isolation and feeling 'trapped' in the human relationship. This oftentimes results in a 'Cycle of Violence'.

Children living in a relationship with abusive behaviour are considered to be at risk of damage, either directly by existence abused or indirectly by witnessing the abuse of the parent or carer. Children who live in families where domestic and family violence occurs are at a greater chance of beingness sexually abused. The continuation of abuse and even exposure to such corruption could consequence in serious problems impacting on the child's personal, health, education and social development.

Helpful links

NSW Police Forcefulness: Domestic and Family Violence

NSW Police Strength: Help and Support Resources

NSW Regime's data near domestic violence

Bullying

Bullying is a pattern of repeated concrete, verbal, psychological or social aggression that is directed towards a person by someone more powerful than them and is intended to cause harm, distress and/or fear.

Bullying might involve repeatedly:

  • hurting someone physically
  • leaving someone out
  • abusing someone verbally or in writing
  • insulting, belittling or intimidating someone
  • using offensive language
  • spreading nasty rumours or cruel teasing
  • displaying offensive textile
  • threatening to commit violence
  • committing harmful or offensive initiation practices
  • behaving hostilely regarding someone'southward gender or sexuality
  • teasing or making someone the brunt of pranks or practical jokes
  • encouraging others to participate in bullying behaviour
  • interfering with someone'due south materials, equipment or personal property.

Bullying may exist perpetrated past a student towards a University staff member or vice versa. Information technology tin can also occur betwixt staff members or between students.

A person can be bullied about their:

  • appearance
  • home or family
  • schoolwork
  • popularity
  • achievements
  • race or culture
  • gender
  • physical and mental country
  • sexuality.

Bullying is non:

  • a single incident
  • providing constructive criticism
  • common disharmonize
  • social rejection or dislike
  • differences of opinion.

Online Bullying (Cyber Bullying)

Cyber bullying can take many forms, including:

  • posting hurtful comments and embarrassing photos on social media
  • sending abusive messages or images through mobile phones and on the internet
  • sending emails that vilify, demean or cause humiliation to a person or grouping
  • setting upward hate websites and blogs to vilify someone
  • using chat rooms, instant messaging and gaming areas to harass someone.