Legal Definitions — Menace, Harass, Reasonable Person Standard
Legal Definitions: Menace, Harass, Cause Offence
When you read these words in legislation they don’t just mean some random can say they’re upset and you go to jail 5head. They have specific definitions.
And the government doesn’t ‘just decide it’s offensive’ the reasonable person standard is also a real codified thing.
Menace
To cause a normally courageous person to feel apprehensive for their safety. It is not necessary for the communication to threaten actual physical harm, nor for it to be directed at the person menaced directly — it is enough that the maker intended it to reach the recipient.
More broadly, courts have defined “menace” as causing a feeling of unease or apprehensiveness, particularly in a person who normally feels confident and secure in their surroundings.
Harass
To trouble or annoy another person by a repeated course of conduct. However, a single instance can constitute harassment if the content of the communication is sufficiently distressing, or the timing or circumstances make it threatening — even without explicit words.
Cause Offence
For conduct to be criminally offensive, the degree of offensiveness must be serious — it must go beyond mere hurt feelings. The test is objective: would a reasonable person consider the conduct offensive? Courts assess this with reference to:
- Standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults
- The literary, artistic or educational merit (if any) of the material
- The general character of the material
(R v Monis [2013] HCA 4 at [336])
The Reasonable Person Standard
All three concepts hinge on an objective test: the question is not whether the complainant personally felt menaced, harassed or offended, but whether a reasonable person in the complainant’s position would have. Intent to menace or harass is not strictly required — the conduct itself must objectively meet the threshold.