How do i use the Protection against Harassment Act to stop someone repeatedly verbally harassing me in street?
I assume you’re in the UK, which renders the earlier US-vigilante advice a bit redundant. The PHA is a civil remedy. If you can prove that someone is in breach of the Act – and from what you say, it seems they are (see the very wide definition of harassment in the Act itself) then they can be forced to pay damages and more importantly, you can get a civil injunction against them. To get the ball rolling, you need a solicitor involved. Don’t even think about trying it yourself. You may be able to secure their services on a no-win; no-fee basis IF they person harassing you has assets. Otherwise, you’ll have to fund it yourself. An alternative would be to report the matter to the police.
If they are continually harassing you in public, to the point that you are afraid for your safety, and there are witnesses, you can do the following: 1. Obtain written statements from witnesses that you are being harassed, detailing the events, the dates, and then signing with their name, a phone number and an address. 2. Call the court house in your city and ask where you can file a protection order. 3. Call the police and make a report, asking them to give you the report #, against the person that is repeatedly harassing you. Tell the police officer on the phone, taking the report, that you feel personally threatened and you are afraid. 4. Go to the office that the court house directed you to, and file for a protection order. Bring the statements from the witnesses, along with the report #’s from any police reports you have made against this person. Tell the judge or the commissioner, or person filing the report for you that you are afraid, and concerned for your personal safety. Ask
When the verbal attacker begins his or her assault, calmly and dispassionately produce a copy of the Act from your briefcase. Read aloud to them the words contained in the document. Stress the part about which penalties and sanctions can apply to someone who is found to be in violation of the Act. This should give any verbal attacker pause, and when they stop to consider their foolish behavior….sucker punch them in the face!
