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HARASSMENT


Priority Youth Housing is committed to providing an environment for staff and service users which is free from threat, harassment and intimidation.  Staff  and service users have the right not to be harassed, bullied or   victimised.

  • Priority Youth Housing will not tolerate harassment or bullying in any form. Action will be taken against anybody - employee, service user, friend of service user, contractor or management committee member - who is found to have been harassing an employee or service user.
  • Priority may withdraw support from any service user found to be causing harassment.
  • In serious cases of harassment, police action or legal proceedings may be necessary to protect service users, staff or any other person suffering from harassment.
  • All service users are responsible for any nuisance or harassment caused by their visitors.

WHAT IS HARASSMENT AND NUISANCE?


Harassment, nuisance and bullying are behaviours which are unwelcome and offensive to another person.

  • Nuisance: includes noise or personal behaviour which causes offence, or which  mean that someone cannot quietly enjoy their home.
  • Bullying: offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour.

  • Harassment: behaviour which violates a person's dignity or creates a hostile, degrading or offensive environment.  It may be related to age, sex, race, disability, religion, nationality or any personal characteristic of the individual. Harassment can be physical, verbal or non-verbal.  It can be repeated or persistent behaviour but can also take the form of a one-off incident. 

WHAT IS RACIAL HARASSMENT?

  • Any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person
  • Racial harassment may be because of a person's race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins.

The following are some examples of Racial Harassment:
  • Racial abuse - verbal and written
  • Racially abusive behaviour
  • Physical assaults
  • Stirring up racial hatred, for example through petitions, leaflets and stickers
  • Damage to property, threats, arson or attempted arson

SARI (Support Against Racial Incidents)
PO BOX642
Bristol BS99 1UT
Tel. 0117 9525652
SARI can offer ongoing support, protective and legal assistance

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

WHAT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT?
It includes any kind of abuse or inappropriate behaviour directed at a person because of their gender or sexual orientation.  Abuse can take many forms:

PHYSICAL - e.g. unwanted touching, other physical contact, violence.
SPOKEN - e.g. insulting or embarrassing jokes or comments.
WRITTEN - e.g. insulting cartoons, pictures, letters.


WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU ARE SUFFERING FROM ANY FORM OF HARASSMENT

LET US KNOW - It is not acceptable for it to happen to you or anyone else. All incidents should be reported to a staff member. You can report an incident to your Support Worker/Housing Worker, Manager, or the Director. If you feel unable to do this you can ask how to contact a Board Member of Priority Youth Housing.
If you would like a full copy of Priority's policies on General Harassment, Sexual

Harassment or Racial Harassment please ask your Support Worker for a copy.
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Young People's Handbook