What is bullying
Criminal law does not provide for such a thing as intimidation. The closest to it in composition are the actions provided for in Art. 119 of the Criminal Code – threats of murder or physical harm. Such a threat is the intention expressed towards the victim to cause harm to his life and health, regardless of the method of causing such harm, provided that such a threat is perceived by the victim as real.
The form of expression of the threat does not matter - it can be expressed verbally, in writing, through gestures, voice messages or messages transmitted through third parties and other means. The absence of verbal expression does not mean that the threat did not exist - intimidation can be expressed in the form of a display of weapons.
Note!
Intimidation can be carried out in single actions or repeated systematically. If the method and form of the threats are identical, such a crime is considered continuous.
To bring a criminal to justice, the purpose of expressing threats and intimidation, whether the criminal has intentions to implement them, the requirements that determine the threats and other circumstances are not of key importance. It is important that the intention to cause harm is expressed in relation to a specific person. A threat to an unlimited number of persons is not a threat of murder in the context of Art. 119 of the Criminal Code, and such a person perceived such a threat as real. But the victim’s opinion alone that the threat is real is not enough. The reality of the threat and the perception of it as dangerous by the victim is assessed taking into account:
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- the circumstances under which it was expressed;
- relations between the parties;
- stated requirements;
- public danger of the criminal;
- violent actions on the part of the criminal and other factors indicating the perception of the criminal’s intentions as real.
Note!
If a criminal commits actions aimed at bringing his threats to life, such actions are qualified under other articles of the Criminal Code, in particular under Art. 105 or 111 of the Criminal Code.
Punishment for bullying
According to Art. 119 of the Criminal Code, the main and qualified elements of a criminal offense related to intimidation and threats to life and health are identified. The main composition assumes the presence of a threat that is perceived by the victim as real. Depending on the severity of the consequences and the social scope of the offense, Part 1 of Art. 119 of the Criminal Code provides for one of the types of punishment for the violator:
- compulsory work up to 480 hours;
- restriction of freedom or forced labor for up to 24 months;
- arrest for 6 months;
- actual prison term is up to 2 years.
If the threat is based on racial, national, religious or other discriminatory differences, including in relation to a specific social category of the population (for example, foreigners), it is qualified under Part 2 of Art. 119 of the Criminal Code and may entail for the offender:
- 5 years of forced labor and deprivation of the right to hold positions in the civil service for 3 years;
- 5 years of real prison term and deprivation of the right to hold positions in the civil service for 3 years.
Whipping boys
Transport company driver Igor recently got a new job and unexpectedly became an outcast. As it turned out, the company had an unspoken tradition: drivers and auto mechanics go to the nearest bar to celebrate the end of the working day. Igor doesn’t like drinking, so at first he refused, and then simply began to go home. Colleagues did not forgive such behavior.
“The guys began to constantly tease me, and if I need help, they refuse me for various reasons,” says Igor. — In fact, I was left at work alone.
32-year-old Sergei works as a manager in a bank in the capital, and he has problems with weight. Everything would be fine, but most of his colleagues are obsessed with fitness. This is the main group in the bank, but Sergei is barred from joining it.
“When we have some kind of movement, they don’t call me anywhere,” Sergei sighs.
Moreover, his colleagues constantly tease Sergei about his weight and the fact that he does not take care of himself. This story has been going on for several years. Sergei began to sleep poorly, in the office he tries to avoid meeting “sports” colleagues, and after work he tries to leave the bank as quickly as possible.
“In the case of Sergei, even if he is not a sports person, he can be respected because he has his own opinion,” comments family psychologist Olga Torletskaya. “However, Sergei should not oppose himself to the team. He could come up with a motto or “chant” for his colleagues, which would certainly make him a full member of their team, even without going to the gym.
According to Olga, Igor’s case is more complicated. The instinct of self-preservation is stronger than all social ties. If he has health problems, it is better for him to really not drink. But Igor should not judge his colleagues: he should probably talk to them more often, share his attention - during the same lunch break. And then, perhaps, his absence in the evening in the company will not be so noticeable.
Still from the film “The Devil Wears Prada” / © Kinopoisk
Guli, an employee of a Moscow logistics company, also has her own story.
“I moved to Russia from the former CIS country,” says Gulya. — How fed up I am with the nagging at work about my nationality! I like to wear long skirts and prefer bright accessories. Colleagues invariably like to go for a walk on this occasion. There is real bullying going on: they make fun of my accent, mentality, faith - and this is the most painful thing. There are no complaints from my superiors about my work, but bullying from employees interferes with my work and life.
People can get bullied by colleagues completely unexpectedly. For example, a team can “unite” against an “extra” employee who needs to be kicked out in order to share his rate. Or this situation: two employees were in a romantic relationship that ended, and one of the partners, for example, was overcome by jealousy and resentment. In this case, he will do everything to annoy his former lover - for example, turn the team against him. There are other situations.
“I would never have thought that I would be an object of ridicule,” admits accountant Valentina. “But, since my age has exceeded 60 years, young employees began to call me “Baba Valya” behind my back. This is incredibly touching! Yes, I am proud to be a grandmother of three grandchildren. Maybe you shouldn’t have told your colleagues about them so often? Maybe that's why I earned this nickname...
Collective conspiracy
Still from the film “The Devil Wears Prada” / © Kinopoisk
— Mobbing is any systematic persecution that humiliates a person in one way or another. That’s why the prevalence of this phenomenon in the corporate environment is actually wider than is commonly talked about,” comments psychotherapist, Doctor of Psychology, Candidate of Medical Sciences Mark Sandomirsky.
According to him, mobbing, for example, may include spreading defamatory rumors about an employee. The reason could be anything - health, accent, appearance, behavior and even the dishes he prefers during lunch. Colleagues may bully an outcast at work and “forget” to invite him to corporate and other socially important events. They make it clear to the person in every possible way that he is a stranger here.
— However, mobbing is not only a direct insult, but also an indirect one. It can be expressed, for example, in emphasized courtesy - the so-called elfing, continues Sandomirsky. — One way or another, the social inadequacy of the behavior of an individual person who is the target of mobbing is emphasized.
According to some reports, 10 percent of employees become victims of mobbing. How dangerous is this phenomenon on such a scale?
Finish off the weak
Photo © Shutterstock Inc
“Of course, mobbing, contrary to the erroneous opinion, does not in itself give rise to suicide, because the latter is the result of an internal psychological imbalance that has existed in a person for a long time,” explains Mark Sandomirsky. — Mobbing simply reduces a person’s work efficiency and leads to an exacerbation of various psychosomatic diseases: more and more often such an outcast goes on sick leave.
As a result, either the following scenario: a person “survives”, he leaves for a new place - by the way, sometimes leaving your current job can even be useful for your career. Or the second option: the persecuted person turns into a habitual victim, having the psychological scenario “scapegoat”. That is, he himself has resigned himself to his fate, and even newly arrived employees who are not in cahoots with the “old ones” begin to “scoff” him.
“But if a person moves from job to job and everywhere there is the same similar story, then this is not mobbing, but the person’s own psychological problems, the responsibility for which he is trying to shift to others,” summarizes Mark Evgenievich.
Mobbing is gender universal - a purely male and purely female version is possible. According to psychologists, work colleagues sense a person’s weakness and begin to hit where it hurts.
— In a women’s group, a man can more easily become a victim of mobbing if, for example, his mother was oppressive in his family. He takes such psychological aggression for granted,” Sandomirsky argues. — Any mobbing is based on the mechanism of an inferiority complex. A person is oppressed and offended precisely because he is inclined to be offended. He feels different from everyone else and initially imagines himself humiliated.
Bullying in law
Insulting a person is defined by Russian legislators in regulations as humiliation of the honor and dignity of a person, and it must be expressed in an indecent form. However, in practice, it is not always possible to figure out in which case it is an insult and in which case it is expressing one’s opinion in a fairly tough company.
Since the beginning of 2012, insulting a person has become a misdemeanor rather than a crime. It is provided for in Article 5.61 of the Administrative Code, or rather in its three parts: for personal insult itself, for public insult and for failure to take measures to prevent public insult. The violator faces a fine of up to three thousand rubles.
Defense against attack
Still from the film “Patients” / © Kinopoisk
In the West, they have learned to fight corporate mobbing - this is done by personnel services. For Russia, this phenomenon is still new, so they often do not react to it in any way.
Psychologists advise increasing the individual stress resistance of a person who has become a target of mobbing.
“It is achieved through various group and individual psychological trainings,” continues Mark Evgenievich. — The victim of mobbing must first of all engage in a systematic increase in self-esteem.
According to him, there are a number of psychological techniques for this: you need to praise yourself and learn to accept praise; emphasize your merits and advantages; do not criticize yourself, at the same time admit real mistakes; create your own support group - on social networks or just among friends.
Secondly, in order to free yourself from the negative emotions caused by mobbing, a person who finds himself a victim must master the skills of practical relaxation.
Third: the victim needs to learn to create the appearance that she is in no way influenced by these aggressive manipulations.
“If you have been insulted by colleagues, you should write a memo to your management outlining the circumstances of the incident,” advises David Dziov, secretary of the Cornerstone recruitment agency. - If you have witnesses who can confirm the fact of your insult, that’s just great. In this case, the employer himself can take action and impose a disciplinary sanction in the form of a reprimand on the offender.
Lawyers also advise not to be afraid to file a police report.
— There is liability in Russian legislation for libel and insult. For this, a person can raise the question of bringing the offender to administrative responsibility,” lawyer Alexey Mikhalchik shares his experience. — For proof, you can stock up on audio or video recordings. In my opinion, the victim could use the help of a psychologist so that he can pull himself together and be able to resist the bullying.
Alexey Mikhalchik noted that Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code (“Slander”) provides for a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to six months, or compulsory work for a period of up to one hundred and sixty hours.
Source: https://life.ru/t/%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE/1165133/tierrarium_na_rabotie_kak_zashchititsia_ot_travli_kolliegh
How to prove the presence of threats or intimidation of a citizen
A citizen who has suffered from threats is not required to prove the fact of their expression in relation to him. It is enough to simply contact the police with a statement, and they will be obliged to check the facts described in it. But the presence of evidence will significantly increase the chances of opening a criminal case. The proof will be:
- recordings of threatening telephone conversations;
- audio and video recordings of meetings with the threat;
- text messages transmitted via telecommunication channels or in writing;
- printouts of telephone connections from the operator;
- witness statements, etc.
Features of psychological violence from the point of view of legislation
Threat is another aspect of psychological violence. This concept is discussed in Article 179 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to this regulatory document, criminally punishable methods of coercion are:
- threat of violence;
- threat of destruction or damage to property;
- threat of disseminating information that could harm the victim.
In this case, the threat must be real. This means that the victim has every reason to fear its implementation. In practice, it is very difficult to prove psychological violence. Such cases rarely go to court, although the victim has the right to file a claim for compensation for moral damage.
Most often, psychological pressure is accompanied by physical violence. If it is represented by beatings, torture, infliction of mild or moderate health, then the offender will be tried under the above-mentioned Article 179.
In the presence of physical violence, the chances of bringing the perpetrator to justice increase significantly. But even in this case, the victim must prove the fact of bullying. To do this, you should contact a medical center to film the beatings and enlist the support of witnesses.
Example of a police report
A statement to the police about threats, according to Art. 140 of the Criminal Procedure Code is the basis for opening a criminal case. It can be submitted orally - in this case, the responsible employee is obliged to draw up a protocol based on it. The application may also be submitted in writing. It is compiled in free form, but in any case cannot be anonymous. Based on anonymous statements, opening a case is unacceptable. The application must indicate:
- the name of the police department to which it is submitted;
- Full name, address, contact details of the applicant;
- information about the criminal, if known to the applicant;
- date, time and circumstances under which the applicant received threats, other relevant circumstances;
- requirement to verify the crime report and open a case;
- list of attachments, date, signature.
Sample application.
Mental violence from the point of view of the law
Mental violence or mental coercion is an influence on the human psyche, the purpose of which is to suppress the will. Such violence is carried out through various types of threats to the victim about causing harm to her or other persons related to her. This crime is regulated by Article 40 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Methods of mental coercion do not include:
- deception;
- bribe;
- persuasion.
Mental violence also refers to the impact on the human psyche using psychotropic substances. One of the key characteristics of this type of coercion is the fact that the victim is not deprived of the opportunity to understand and direct his actions. Therefore, if a person commits a crime under the influence of psychotropic substances, he will receive the appropriate punishment under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Difficulties in determining subjective characteristics
To determine whether it is permissible to hold a particular person accountable, it is necessary to consider a set of signs:
- personality traits of the criminal;
- his goals and motivations;
- nature of guilt.
The subject of psychological violence can be a citizen who has reached the age of 16 and is recognized as fully sane. But it can be difficult to establish the subjective side of this type of crime. Complicating the situation is the fact that many people commit psychological violence unintentionally. Due to his upbringing or level of development, the rapist does not realize that he is torturing the victim. Accordingly, he is unable to predict the consequences that may occur as a result of his actions.
In what form and in what amount is moral damage compensated?
Art. 237 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for options for compensation for moral damage: it can be carried out only in one form - monetary.
With regard to the amount of such compensation, this article is not so categorical. Its size is established by agreement of the parties to the employment contract.
To qualify for “moral” compensation, the employee will have to work hard. He will need:
- confirm the occurrence of moral harm;
- prove that the employer’s actions were unlawful;
- identify the cause-and-effect relationship between the moral suffering caused and the employer’s law-breaking actions.
A serious and objective approach by both parties to the employment contract to resolve the issue of the amount of compensation will avoid unnecessary conflicts and unnecessary additional psychological overload.
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Falsification of election documents, referendum documents, deliberately incorrect counting of votes or deliberately incorrect determination of the results of elections, referendums, violation of the secrecy of voting, if these acts were committed by a member of the election commission, initiative group or commission for holding a referendum, are punishable by a fine in the amount of five hundred to seven hundred minimum wages. the amount of remuneration or in the amount of wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of five to seven months or by imprisonment for a term of up to four years.
1. Illegal use of objects of copyright or related rights, as well as appropriation of authorship, if these acts caused large-scale damage, is punishable by a fine in the amount of two hundred to four hundred times the minimum monthly wage, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of two to four hundred times the minimum wage. four months, or compulsory labor for a term of one hundred eighty to two hundred and forty hours, or imprisonment for a term of up to two years.
What is the penalty for insulting a person?
Since insult is legally defined as a criminal act, the regulation of issues arising in connection with this offense is carried out within the framework of Art. 130 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This article gives a general definition of the concept and also indicates the types of punishments provided for by law for insult.
