Harassment

The Alberta Human Rights Commission receives inquiries about harassment and accepts complaints about discrimination under the Alberta Human Rights Act. It also works with communities and organizations to help prevent discrimination and promote respectful behaviours.

What is harassment?

Harassment is unwanted or unwelcome verbal or physical conduct that offends or humiliates a person. It may be one serious incident or a series of incidents. Sometimes, harassment is called bullying. Sexual harassment is a form of harassment that is sexual in nature.

Harassment can be discrimination under the Alberta Human Rights Act if it is based on one or more protected grounds and in one or more protected areas. Harassment may have a different meaning in other areas of law, like criminal law and occupational health and safety.

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What you need to know

  • Harassment can occur regardless of what the harasser intended. 
  • The Commission can help with harassment prohibited by the Act, but may not be able to help with all issues of harassment and bullying.
  • A person who experiences harassment in a protected area and based on a protected ground can make a complaint to the Commission within one year of the harassment incident.
  • A person who experiences harassment at work related to a protected ground can make a complaint to the Commission against their employer.
  • Communities and organizations can play a role in preventing harassment and encouraging respectful and inclusive behaviours.
  • The Commission can work with communities and organizations to help prevent discrimination and promote respectful behaviours.
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Harassment as a form of discrimination

Harassment includes many actions. Examples of harassment as a form of discrimination include:

  • verbal or physical abuse, threats, derogatory comments, jokes, innuendo, or taunts about appearance or belief
  • sharing pornographic, racist, or offensive images
  • practical jokes
  • unwelcome invitations or requests, either indirect (subtle) or direct (obvious)
  • intimidation, leering, or other objectionable gestures
  • unwanted physical contact such as touching, patting, pinching, punching, and physical assault

The Commission can only deal with complaints about harassment that are discrimination under the Act. It can accept complaints of harassment if the incident:

  • is based on one or more protected grounds,
  • occurs in a protected area, and
  • leads to a negative effect.

The harassment may have a negative effect for the person experiencing it, regardless of what the harasser intended. Examples of negative effects include:

  • insulting or intimidating behaviours that make someone uncomfortable, including feeling threatened, shameful, fearful, or awkward
  • negatively influencing decisions about someone's job performance or decisions they make about their job
  • being refused a job, promotion, or training opportunity because of the harassment or for speaking out about the harassment
  • being refused a service
  • being refused housing, such as a rental unit

Behaviour acceptable to both people involved, such as mutual flirting or joking, is not harassment.

The Act does not protect against all issues of harassment. For example, your neighbour may repeatedly harass you about something. While this behaviour is not acceptable, the Commission cannot deal with complaints about private conversations between neighbours. Contact the police to see if the behaviour is criminal harassment.

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The Commission's work on harassment

Harassment can exist within institutions, not just between individuals. For example, an organization may have a culture that allows harassment.

Communities and organizations can play an important role in influencing the beliefs and behaviours of groups of people. For example, a workplace that models and enforces a policy promoting respect, diversity, equality, and inclusion is more likely to result in employees behaving respectfully.

The Commission receives many requests from communities and organizations who want to take steps to prevent harassment. We can help groups with strategies that can prevent discrimination, eliminate barriers, and create respectful and inclusive environments. Refer to the Education and engagement page to learn more about the Commission's work.

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FAQs

No. To be discrimination, the hate, racism, harassment, or bullying must:

  • be based on one or more protected grounds,
  • occur in a protected area (such as employment, housing, or goods and services), and
  • lead to a negative effect.

For example, discrimination occurs if someone is refused a job, promotion, or training opportunity because of their religious beliefs or any other protected ground.

Section 3 of the Act also covers statements, publications, notices, signs, symbols, emblems, or other representations that indicate discrimination or an intention to discriminate again a person or class of person or are likely to expose a person or class of persons to hatred or contempt because of any of the protected grounds. Read the Section 3 page to learn more about this area.

The Commission can only deal with hate or racism that is protected under the Act. Some examples include:

  • If someone at work says hateful things to you because you have different political views, this is not discrimination under the Act.
  • If your neighbour makes a racist and hurtful comment towards you, this is not discrimination under the Act because conversations between neighbours are not protected.
  • If someone at work harasses you because you have different political views, this is not discrimination under the Act, as political views are not a protected ground.
  • If someone publicly distributes a flyer that has hateful comments about a particular group.

Hate, racism, harassment, and bullying are not acceptable, even if the Act does not cover it.

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The Act prohibits anyone (including an employer or manager) from retaliating against a person making a human rights complaint, trying to make a complaint, or helping another make a complaint. This means your employer cannot fire you or treat you negatively for making a complaint about harassment in the workplace.

You can call the Commission anonymously to figure out what steps you should take. Only you can determine how to safely address the situation.

Sexual harassment is unwelcome or unwanted behaviour that is sexual in nature. It is a form of discrimination based on the protected ground of gender. Sexual harassment may sometimes, but not always, be an attempt by one person to exert power over another person. The harassment may have a negative effect for the person experiencing the harassment, regardless of what the harasser intended.

Sexual harassment can take many forms, from very subtle to very obvious. Examples of sexual harassment include:

  • suggestive remarks, jokes, or invitations
  • comments about physical appearance
  • sharing suggestive sexual images
  • leering or whistling
  • patting, rubbing, or other unwanted physical contact
  • outright demands for sexual favours
  • verbal abuse
  • physical assault

The most serious form of sexual harassment is sexual assault – sexual contact without voluntary consent. This may be criminal in nature and you may contact the police.

Learn more on the Government of Alberta's Alberta Learning Information Site on sexual harassment and what you need to know.

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If you feel safe and comfortable doing so, tell the harasser their behaviour is unwelcome or unwanted. Ask them to stop.

If the behaviour continues, or if you do not feel safe or comfortable addressing the harasser, report the harassment to a person in authority, such as management or the human resources department. If your employer has a harassment policy, follow the process in the policy. You may also contact your union or employee association.

You can make a complaint to the Commission instead of reporting the harassment to a person in authority or while your company is following internal processes. You must make a complaint within one year of the incident, otherwise the Commission cannot accept it.

Keep records of the harassment. For example:

  • take notes of what happened and when, and how the incident made you feel
  • take notes of steps you took to stop the harassment. If you didn’t take any actions, note why
  • print off offending emails or messages
  • ask witnesses for statements describing what they saw

Your employer or the Commission may ask for information about the harassment. Keep a copy of the records for yourself too.

Learn more by watching the Commission’s video, “I am Being Harassed or Witnessing Harassment. What can I do?

If you see someone harassing another person, step in if safe to do so. The person experiencing harassment may be afraid to speak up, so you may be a voice for them.

If your employer has a harassment policy, let the harasser know about it. Report the incident to management or the human resources department and include what you saw. If your employer or the Commission investigates the complaint, you may provide information.

Learn more by watching the Commission’s video, “I am Being Harassed or Witnessing Harassment. What can I do?

Employers have a legal duty to maintain a work environment free from harassment for all employees, customers, and clients. An employer who does not follow up on a harassment complaint may be liable under the Act for not taking prompt and proper action.

Harassment also creates unhealthy and unproductive workplaces. It can be costly for employers in terms of financial costs and employee morale. This is especially true for employers who do not have an effective harassment policy and who do not take complaints seriously.

Finally, employers are responsible for their employees’ actions at work and may be found legally liable in a complaint of harassment.

Employers are responsible for their employees’ actions in a case of harassment. An employer may discipline the employee, but the employer is ultimately responsible for a safe workplace.

If the complaint relates to an issue that is protected under the Alberta Human Rights Act, the Commission’s complaint process applies. Read the Am I in the right place? page to learn more about what kinds of complaints the Commission can deal with.

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Canada's Criminal Code describes the offence of criminal harassment. A person commits this offence if they engage in conduct that causes another person to fear for their safety or the safety of anyone they know. Harassing conduct includes doing any of the following to another person:

  • repeatedly following them from place to place
  • repeatedly communicating, directly or indirectly, with them
  • being at or watching the place they live, work, or happen to be

The standard for a criminal offence is high. Based on the evidence, the judge must believe the person committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Even if the behaviour is not criminal, it does not necessarily mean the behavior is acceptable.

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A workplace or other organization can create a harassment prevention policy to deal with harassment complaints internally.

A harassment prevention policy usually includes the following information:

  • purpose of the policy (such as having zero tolerance for harassment)
  • who the policy applies to
  • definitions of terms used in the policy, including harassment
  • roles of management and non-management employees
  • process for making and dealing with complaints, including disciplinary action

Harassment prevention policies should include the grounds and areas covered under the Alberta Human Rights Act.

Watch the Commission's Effective Harassment Prevention Policy for the Workplace video to learn more.

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Some incidents are discrimination. The Act prohibits discrimination that occurs in a protected area and is based on one or more protected grounds. If you have experienced, witnessed, or are part of a workplace or organization responding to a complaint of discrimination, learn more by reading the Responding to discrimination page. You can also make a complaint to the Commission within one year of the discrimination occurring.

Hate and harassment that is criminal in nature is protected under Canada’s Criminal Code. You can contact the police, Victims’ Services, or Crime Stoppers to report your concerns. The police decide if they have enough evidence to lay charges and the Crown prosecutors bring the offence to court.

Other incidents may not be discrimination under the Act, a hate crime, or criminal. This behaviour is still not okay. Contact an anti-hate agency to report your concerns and receive support. Examples include StopHateAB, Act2endracism (to report hate and racism against people of Asian descent), the Anti-hate Hotline (to report an anti-Semitic incident), and the RCMP's Online Crime Reporting portal. You can also contact 211 Alberta to find local supports.

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Employers can implement a harassment prevention policy. Beyond just having a policy, the employer must tell employees about the policy and enforce it. This includes taking prompt and proper action to address complaints. Employers who have and enforce a policy may decrease their liability if an employee makes a human rights complaint against them.

Aside from harassment policies, businesses will benefit from human rights education in the workplace. Creating a respectful work culture where harassment is not tolerated and people feel safe to report workplace issues improves the entire organization.

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