Protection from Harassment Act 1997

[F1 8A Harassment amounting to domestic abuse S

(1) Every individual has a right to be free from harassment and, accordingly, a person must not engage in conduct which amounts to harassment of another and—

(a) is intended to amount to harassment of that person; or

(b) occurs in circumstances where it would appear to a reasonable person that it would amount to harassment of that person.

(2) Subsection (1) only applies where the conduct referred to amounts to domestic abuse.

(3) Subsections (2) to (7) of section 8 apply in relation to subsection (1) as they apply in relation to subsection (1) of that section but with the following modifications––

(a) in subsections (2) and (4), the words “course of” are omitted;

(b) for subsection (3) there is substituted—

“(3) For the purposes of this section—

• “conduct”––

  (a)

  may involve behaviour on one or more than one occasion; and

  (b)

  includes—

  (i)

  speech; and

  (ii)

  presence in any place or area; and

• “harassment” of a person includes causing the person alarm or distress.”; and

(c) in subsection (4)(b), for “pursued” substitute “ engaged in ” . ]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 8A inserted (S.) (21.7.2011) by Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2011 (asp 13), ss. 1(2), 5(2)