Nevertheless, the court's ruling further smudges the already blurred line between discrimination on the basis of sex, which is what is actually outlawed by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (the primary source of sexual-harassment law), and mere incivility or, in Mr Oncale's case, criminal assault.

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The latest weapon, the Protection from Harassment Act, passed earlier this year by the Tories, enables victims of harassment to apply to the courts for an injunction and damages.

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Although the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 did provide some protection for women in the workplace, it was not until the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 that employers were obliged to take seriously the issue of female staff being bullied or sexually harassed in the office.

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The primary source of harassment law is the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

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The American Statistical Association has protested at the political persecution faced by its Argentine colleagues, and is urging the United Nations to act, on the ground that the harassment is a violation of the right to freedom of expression.

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The man was arrested under the Malicious Communications Act and was also held on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence of intentionally causing harassment, alarm or distress.

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It recommended that action could be taken on the grounds of harassment, and that the authority could sue for defamation under the Localism Act 2011 - because several of the requests were made in emails to every councillor.

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