Quote:
Originally Posted by BadBilly
This is just ridiculous, to equate the casual social interaction of small talk with sexual harassment or assault. If anyone doesn't know what appropriate boundaries are, I'd say it is someone who conflates chit-chat with harassment.
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Sorry, it's harassment if people intrude on you despite being effectively told to leave me alone. And a man continuing to intrude on a woman
is sexual harassment even if nothing overtly sexual is said.
I'm assuming by your forum name you're a man - this may not seem like sexual harassment to you but to a woman (especially one that is young or inexperienced) it may well come across as such. You may think you're casually chit-chatting, but your interlocutor may not so just back off and leave her alone.
Think about it - you're about to wait at a bus stop - there's a woman already there reading a book or looking at an electronic device:
Acceptable interaction - 'Excuse me, how long have you been waiting here?' (to gauge how long you may have to wait for the next bus)
Unacceptable interaction - to continue talking to her if she returns to her book or device after replying.
At a party or similar situation, continuing to talk to someone is part of the normal interaction (and I would consider it rude to be reading in those circumstances), but if a woman is obviously on her own and obviously minding her own business, then it's rude to expect her to engage in chit-chat beyond a brief factual question and response.