What is harassment?

Harassment is any deliberate act that interferes with the peace, comfort or safety of an individual or group because of their race, colour, religious belief, ethnic or national origin (racial harassment), their gender or sexuality (sexual harassment), their disability (disability harassment), their age, appearance or other personal attributes.

Harassment can occur in many forms and incidents can range from subtle to very obvious. Examples of harassment include:

  • Abusive language
  • Abusive or threatening behaviour
  • Physical assault
  • Damage to property
  • Graffiti
  • Behaviour that interferes with peaceful occupation of the home

How to report harassment

If you, or somebody you know, is experiencing harassment which may be motivated by your race, gender, sexuality, age, disability, religion, or something else, you can do the following:

  • Write down what happened with dates, times and descriptions of those responsible
  • Report it to your housing officer or property management officer
  • Report it to the police or ask your housing officer to report incidents to the police for you

If you see or hear racial or sexual harassment, please report it to your housing officer, even if you are not directly involved. Anything you say will be treated in confidence.

What we will do

We will take all complaints seriously, give you all the help we can, and can arrange interviews in your own language if necessary. We will:

  • Visit you within 72 hours for an interview, to take a detailed statement (including witnesses)
  • Agree an action plan with you to try to stop the harassment
  • Carry out any emergency repairs that may be needed
  • Take steps to evict someone if the person harassing you is one of our tenants, a member of their family or their guest, and they do not stop
  • Provide extra security or try to move you if it is not safe for you to stay in your home
  • Put you in touch with local support groups.

While we hope preventative action will be effective in most cases, we will use legal enforcement action when required, providing we have sufficient evidence to support our case in court.

More support

You can find further information about what to do if you experience discrimination, including harassment, on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.