Guest article: How to combat harassment

Harassment can be defined as: “the act of systematic and/or continued, unwanted and annoying actions of one party or a group, including threats and demands.” (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/harassment).

Harassment can come from a stranger, friend, family member, co-worker, significant other, supervisor, etc. Unlike rape, robbery and kidnapping, actions that are considered as harassment can vary from individual to individual – as long as the action can be deemed as systematic, and/or is continued and unwanted.

Harassment is something that will affect most people at some point in their lives. This is because harassment can occur anywhere, and be anything from bullying to workplace or sexual harassment. In most cases, harassment is sexual — this includes lewd jokes, uncomfortable comments, gender or racial slurs and actual unwelcome physical contact. Both men and women can suffer from sexual harassment, either verbal or nonverbal. Any behavior that creates a hostile learning or working environment may be considered harassment.

There is a common misperception that men are only initiators of harassment towards women, but that is not the case. Harassment can be male-to-female, female-to-male, male-to-male and female-to-female.

On college campuses around the nation, 62 percent of females and 61 percent of males report being sexually harassed, according to documented research. And, 66 percent of college students report personal knowledge of someone who has been harassed. The most common harassers of college students are other students: 80 percent of students who reported being harassed said another student was perpetrator (http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/legal-resources/know-your-rights-on-campus/campus-sexual-harassment/#stats).

It’s easy to try to ignore the person who is harassing you, but most of the time, if that person is ignored, the harassment will continue and get worse. According to harass.stanford.edu, the best thing to do if you are being harassed is:

1. Speak up! Tell the person you feel uncomfortable with their actions/jokes/attention and ask him/her to stop. This should be done as long as you feel safe enough to do so.

2. If you feel unable to ask the harasser to stop, face-to-face, write a written message to him/her—be sure to keep a copy of it for your own records.

3. If the harassment still continues, keep records of events — this includes dates, places, times and what was said, and how you responded. Records will come in handy when you seek outside help by reporting the harassment.

It’s very common for victims to delay action and to wait to seek help. Most of the time, this is because they blame themselves for the unwanted attention or feel like it will stop on its own. This doesn’t help anything: When it comes to harassment, never blame yourself or wait to get help. It is not your fault, and you did not ask for that kind of behavior!

Reporting harassment is very important. If the harassment is happening at work, a manager or owner of the business needs to be notified of the undesired behavior. In the case the harassment continues, law enforcement needs to be notified by going through proper channels and filling out a report. In the case that the harassment is taking place on a college campus, a few departments should be made aware of the situation — Human Resources, administrative members, counselors and Public Safety, for example.

By first contacting the Public Safety department at Mt. Hood – either at the office in Room AC2330 or by calling 503-491-7310 –Public Safety officers will be able to assist you in contacting the other departments.

Counselors are available at 503-491-7432 if you need any type of advice, or just want to talk and set up an appointment. If needed, the Public Safety department can help with reporting the harassment to local law enforcement officials. Once everyone is notified, actions can be taken to stop the harassment and make you feel safe.

Harassment is not something that should be taken lightly.

In more than half of all types of harassment, the victim suffers lasting negative effects. These can cause the victim to be scared, self-conscious, embarrassed or angry. The victim might be forced to change his or her life, such as switching schools or quitting work because of the trauma.

Don’t let someone dictate your life. If you are being harassed, get help immediately. If someone you know is being harassed, strongly encourage him or her to seek help.

– Daryln Chester is a MHCC student doing an internship with the Public Safety Office on campus.