Categories of Harassment

All forms of harassment or discrimination involve treating someone unfairly or unfavorably because of:

Age: the person’s chronological age

Ancestry: a person’s ancestral descent/lineage

Color: skin color complexion

Creed: a set of fundamental beliefs or a guiding principle

Familial status: the presence or absence of members in one’s family

Gender identity: the individual’s self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex

Marital status: the condition of being married or unmarried

National origin: being from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background (even if they are not)

Physical attributes: the quality or characteristics of a person’s physical body

Physical or mental ability or disability: the real or perceived presence of a physical or mental disability or history of disability (such as cancer that is controlled or in remission)

Political belief: belief or activity in a registered political party

Political party reference: a person’s affiliation with or spoken allegiance to a political party

Race: being of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race (such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features)

Religion: a person’s religious beliefs; the law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs

Sex: the person’s sex/gender

Sexual orientation: the direction of one’s sexual interest toward members of the same, opposite, or both sexes, especially a direction seen to be dictated by physiologic rather than sociologic forces

Socioeconomic status: occupation, education, income, wealth or place of residence