persistent aggressive behavior or intimidation
from French harasser, to tire out
Harassment harasses happiness right out of people!
Harassment, especially sexual harassment, has been historically normalized or minimized when directed at women in workplaces and public spaces. Legal recognition and naming as harm is recent (1970s-80s onwards).
Use 'harassment' to describe unwanted conduct of any kind (sexual, racial, discriminatory) affecting any person, without gendering the experience.
Women's advocacy and legal action have established harassment as institutional harm, not personal failing; #MeToo and workplace reforms reflect decades of women's organizing.
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