|
Psychological Harassment is not a new phenomenon but it is one that is
on the rise. It’s a serious phenomenon that has serious consequences for
the victims and our society.
This website was created to provide
information about Psychological Harassment and its many forms. It also
exposes psychological harassment and different
psychological
manipulations used to target individuals.
Many victims of psychological harassment suffer from physical ailments, irritability,
anxiety, nervousness, insomnia, stress, fatigue, depressive states, burn
outs, and in some cases suicide. Many are unable to continue working and
suffer financial loss.
In some cases the causes are over work, unrealistic work demands,
withholding information and resources, arbitrary removal of
responsibilities, public humiliation, consistent over time, lack of
professional autonomy, favoritism and nepotism, excessive competitive
work environment, disorganized working conditions, ambiguous tasks or
contradictory tasks, tasks that are deprived of purpose, constant
threats of dismissal, leadership styles, lack of communication,
and intimidation.
Violence has different forms: Physical and Psychological. Many safe
guards have been put in place to prevent physical violence in our
society but few if any exist to prevent psychological violence.
Psychological Harassment has many forms: the most common being verbal
abuse. Some tactics aim at trying to humiliate or weaken the morale of
individuals or groups.
Mobbing also referred to by some as Bullying, psychological terrorism,
and organizational violence is described as a collective form of
psychological violence in which many individuals unite to persecute an
individual by making constant negative remarks, repeated criticism or
sarcasm, intimidation, threats, insinuations, try to humiliate,
circulate false information concerning the individual, and to socially
isolate the individual. Mobbing is a way of destroying a person without
using any physical means, a psychological war of nerves with wear the
individual out tactics. A group attacks an individual's dignity,
integrity, self-image, self-confidence, self-esteem, place in doubt of
competence, threaten their careers, and means of subsistence.
One method used to induce distress or suffering in a person is by
systematically isolating them from their peers.
After a few months some victims can suffer from psychiatric difficulties
such as paranoia, chronic fatigue, loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, and
depression.
"A tactic
that is sometimes used, to break a person down psychologically
and physically, is to induce as much stress as possible for a long period
of time." - (see The Effects of Stress)
One tactic is to attack or
upset, emotional or mood change, the victim early in the day or morning.
This can set the mood or have a lasting effect through out the day.
(see Negative
Conditioning)
Another tactic is to attack or upset the victim late in the
work day on Fridays just before a restful weekend. This has the effect of
causing the victim to think or worry, anxiety, about the attack or event through
out the weekend.
|
A report from Téléjournal - Le
Point called “Le cauchemar du harcèlement moral” documents
the cases of three people. One of the persons documented
committed suicide. The article is in French:
“Le cauchemar du harcèlement moral”.
According to this report the psychiatrist Marie-France
Hirigoyen, author of Le harcèlement moral : La violence
perverse au quotidien, started a social debate in France in
1998 that resulted in a new law to penalize psychological
harassment. Art L.122-49 alinea 1 du code du travail.
Psychological Harassment is viewed as direct or indirect
tactics used to get rid of someone or to break them down
psychologically and should not be confused with stress
related to work performance.
After a few months some people can suffer from psychological
problems. Some can react with hyper combativeness and can be
classified as paranoid. Some suffer from chronic fatigue,
low self-esteem, depression, loss of employment, and
suicide.
Attacks to an individual's dignity, integrity, self-image,
things that can be humiliating, can become destructive by
their repetition.
Anyone can be a target of psychological harassment and there
isn’t any particular psychological profile attached to it.
In some cases, the difficulty is that the attacks are subtle
and leave few traces so when the person is targeted they are
destabilized and do not know how to defend themselves.
Radio
Canada
Stalking the Soul: Emotional Abuse and the Erosion of Identity
by Marie-France Hirigoyen, Helen Marx (Afterword), Thomas
Moore (Translator)
From Publishers Weekly
"Often, emotional abuse builds
over a long period of time until it becomes
so unbearable that victims lash out in frustration and
anger, only to appear unstable and aggressive themselves.
This, according to Hirigoyen, is the intent of many abusers:
to systematically "destabilize" and confuse their victims
(with irrational, threatening behavior that preys on the
victim's fears and self-doubts), to isolate and control them
and ultimately to destroy their identity."
amazon.com |
As stated above, psychological harassment can cause physical and
psychological illness. Reports, statistics, and documents relating to
how many people have suffered from burnouts, depression, suicide, and
other illnesses caused by psychological harassment are hard to find.
Statistics on suicides are available. In some countries like Canada,
suicide is the number one cause of death for men in different age
groups. In the United States it is the third leading cause of death
among those aged 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among those
aged 25-34. We do not know what percentages of these suicides were caused
by psychological harassment.
| Mental disorders (particularly
depression and substance abuse) are associated with more
than 90% of all cases of suicide. However, suicide results
from many complex socio cultural factors and is more likely
to occur during periods of socio-economic, family and
individual crisis (e.g. loss of a loved one, employment, honour).
Former site of Befrienders International. |
A few websites exist that claim that advanced technology is
being used on
people. The technology described can remotely induce pain, sexual
stimulation, orgasms, and other sensations. Another technology described on these websites
is about some kind of sound technology.
|
Victims from all over the world have contacted an
organization called CAHRA Citizens Against Human Rights
Abuse to report various forms of harassment and torture.
Victims have reported the use of mind control and the use of
advanced technologies. All the victims describe the
technology as unbelievably sophisticated.
One of the technologies described can induce different
remote sensations on the body such as pain and sexual
stimulation. The use of degrading themes such as pedophilia
and homosexuality are also reported. Another technology
described involves sound and is referred to as microwave
hearing or voices in the head. Sleep deprivation and dream
manipulation are also reported. Harassing manipulation of
electronic equipment such as phone, TV, and computers are
reported as well. Victims describe the mind control
phenomena as cruel, debilitating, and compare it to mental
rape. Many have been classified as psychologically ill and
live in financial ruin.
Mindjustice - reported mind control symptoms
eTorture
- reported advanced technologies and psychological
manipulation |
Degrading themes are often used to try to prevent people from coming
forward.
When some people hear of psychological
torture they often think of sleep depravation, repetitive sounds, and
repetitive words. As already stated, psychological harassment and its
many forms can have devastating effects on the victims, both physically
and psychologically, and can induce a lot of suffering.
|
|
News - 12 year boy hangs himself |
|
In Connecticut, a 12 year old boy hanged
himself in his closet with a necktie after being
picked on for months at school over his bad breath and body
odor.
The suicide spawned a Connecticut law mandating schools to
report bullies to authorities.
boy hangs himself after being bullied at school
|
|
News - Social rejection and isolation is
registered as pain by the brain. |
| Social
rejection and isolation registers as pain to a part of the
brain, which registers physical pain,
called the anterior cingulate cortex according to
researchers who measured the neural reactions of people who
thought they had become outcasts in a game.
Rejection really hurts, UCLA psychologists find
|
|
News -
In Quebec, new laws concerning psychological harassment have come into effect on June 1st
2004. |
|
On December 19 2002 the Quebec
government introduced new laws concerning psychological
harassment. These new laws have come into effect on June 1st 2004.
Sect. 81.18
For the purposes of this Act, “psychological harassment”
means any vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated and
hostile or unwanted conduct, verbal comments, actions or
gestures, that affects an employee’s dignity or
psychological or physical integrity and that results in a
harmful work environment for the employee.
A single serious incidence of such behaviour that has a
lasting harmful effect on an employee may also constitute
psychological harassment.
(IN FORCE ON JUNE 1, 2004)
___________________
2002, c. 80, s. 47.
|
Commission des normes du travail
|
|