What to do in case of harassment?
Verified 30 November 2020 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
Harassment is the repetition of statements and behaviors that have the aim or effect of worsening the victim's living conditions. This results in consequences for the physical or mental health of the harassed person.
The law punishes all forms of harassment, taking into account the frequency and content of the acts.
These include, for example:
- Vexatious acts or remarks
- Threats
- Offensive or obscene language
- Malicious phone calls, text messages, or e-mail
- Home visits or workplace visits
Harassment occurs regardless of the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim: co-workers, neighbors, students of the same school, married or unmarried couple...
If your situation requires urgent law enforcement intervention, you can alert the police or gendarmerie.
In case of emergency, and only in this situation, it is possible to alert the police or gendarmerie by telephone call, or by SMS, if you are unable to speak.
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By telephone
In case of emergency, when a quick intervention is necessary, you can call the emergency police. Dial 17.
You can also contact the 112.
Who shall I contact
Emergency Police - 17 (by phone)
By telephone
Dial 17 in the event of an emergency involving a road accident, a breach of public order or a criminal offense. A team of police or gendarmes will be on hand.
You can also dial the 112. You will then be directed to the right service according to your case. The 112 can be used in all European Union countries.
If the situation is not an emergency, call your local police or gendarmerie.
Who shall I contact
European emergency number - 112
112
Emergency number to be used for a call from a European country or from a mobile phone
24/7
Free call
You can't call
114 is the emergency call relay service if you are unable to speak on the phone (deaf, hard of hearing ...) or if it could put you in danger.
Who shall I contact
Deaf and hard of hearing emergency number - 114
By SMS at 114
Free 24/7 access
Via the emergency mobile application 114 or the website www.urgence114.fr
Free 24/7 access
Contact possible via:
- Video telephony: I communicate in sign language
- Chat: I communicate in writing
- Voice / Return text: I speak and 114 responds to me in writing (or vice versa)
You can alert the police or the gendarmerie for any harassment on the internet, and for any sexual or gender harassment, even if it is not committed via the internet.
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Cyber harassment
If the harassment takes place on the internet, you can alert the specialized police and gendarmerie department.
Sexual or gender-based harassment
If the harassment is related to your gender or sexual orientation, you can alert the specialized police and gendarmerie department for victims of sexual or gender-based violence.
Harassment is punished in all situations and any evidence gathered by the victim may be admitted to court (testimonies of neighbors, copies of letters...).
How do I file a complaint?
Any victim of harassment may file a complaint against the perpetrator of the acts in question. If the perpetrator is unknown, she can file a complaint against X.
On the spot
You must go to a police station or a gendarme brigade of your choice.
You may not be refused the receipt of the complaint.
The complaint is then forwarded to the public prosecutor by the police or gendarmerie.
By mail
You can file a complaint with the public prosecutor.
We need to send a free-form letter the court of law of the place of the offense or of the domicile of the offender.
Who shall I contact
The letter should specify the following:
- Your marital status and full contact information (address and telephone number)
- Detailed account of the facts, date and place of the offense
- Name of the alleged perpetrator if known (otherwise, the complaint will be filed against X)
- Names and addresses of any witnesses to the offense
- Description and provisional or definitive estimate of the damage
- Evidence: medical certificates, work stoppages, miscellaneous invoices, findings ...
- Willingness to take civil action
File a complaint with the public prosecutor
Who shall I contact
You can send your complaint by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, by simple letter or by letter followed.
You can also file your complaint directly at the courthouse.
In any case, a receipt is given to you as soon as the Public Prosecutor's Office has registered your complaint.
FYI
the electronic complaint of psychological and sexual harassment of a discriminatory nature on the Internet must be lodged with the tribunal judiciaire de Paris, when the facts have been committed throughout the territory.
As a victim you can also claim damages.
Penalties
The person responsible for harassment is likely to:
- 1 year in prison
- and €15,000 of fine.
Aggravating circumstances exist if
- the harassment resulted in a total incapacity for work of more than eight days (anxiety, stress...),
- the victim is under the age of 15,
- the acts were committed against a person whose particular vulnerability, due to age, illness, disability, physical or mental disability or pregnancy, is apparent or known to the perpetrator.
If the offense was committed with only one of these aggravating circumstances, the maximum penalty is increased to:
- 2 years in prison,
- and €30,000 of fine.
If the offense was committed with three or more of these aggravating circumstances, the maximum penalty is:
- 3 years in prison,
- and €45,000 of fine.
There are specific penalties depending on the type of harassment:
Online service
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Ministry of the Interior
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