New Zealand Acts

HARASSMENT ACT 1997 - SECT 3

3 Meaning of harassment

1 For the purposes of this Act, a person harasses another person if he or she engages in a pattern of behaviour that is directed against that other person, being a pattern of behaviour that includes doing any specified act to the other person on at least 2 separate occasions within a period of 12 months.

2 To avoid any doubt,—

a) the specified acts required for the purposes of subsection (1) may be the same type of specified act on each separate occasion, or different types of specified acts:

b) the specified acts need not be done to the same person on each separate occasion, as long as the pattern of behaviour is directed against the same person.

3 For the purposes of this Act, a person also harasses another person if—

a) he or she engages in a pattern of behaviour that is directed against that other person; and

b) that pattern of behaviour includes doing any specified act to the other person that is one continuing act carried out over any period.

4 For the purposes of subsection (3),
"continuing act" includes a specified act done on any one occasion that continues to have effect over a protracted period (for example, where offensive material about a person is placed in any electronic media and remains there for a protracted period).

History: Section 3(3): inserted, on 3 July 2015, by section 32 of the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (2015 No 63).   Section 3(4): inserted, on 3 July 2015, by section 32 of the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015 (2015 No 63).