Introduction
One of the areas of our society where verbal and physical violence is most prevalent is within homeowners’ associations. This gives rise to neighbor harassment, also known as blocking.
Although the term stalking may be better known to refer to insistent and repeated harassment that causes a serious alteration in the development of a person’s daily life, the term blocking is closer to what neighbor harassment encompasses. This is created from the English word “block”, which according to the Oxford Dictionary means: “a group of buildings bounded by four streets.” And, although in English this term is used with another meaning, in Spanish we do use it to refer to neighbor harassment.
Concept and Regulation
The neighbor harassment or blocking, as it is currently called, is a crime regulated in Article 172 ter of the Penal Code, which establishes that:
“Anyone who harasses a person by carrying out any of the following behaviors in an insistent and repeated manner, and without being legitimately authorized, and in this way alters the normal development of their daily life, shall be punished with a prison sentence of three months to two years or a fine of six to twenty-four months:
1st. Watches them, pursues them […]
2nd. Establishes or attempts to establish contact […]
3rd. […] undue use of their personal data […]
4th. Attacks their freedom or their assets […]”.
This refers to the harassment exercised by one neighbor over another repeatedly, through threats, insults, and other mechanisms aimed at destabilizing and disturbing the other person, causing an alteration in their daily life.
Some of the typical behaviors that we may have seen or heard about regarding this crime include, for example: causing annoying noises, insulting, watching, stalking, acts of vandalism, constant calls, messages, and even physical violence.
However, despite being a crime that we can apparently identify easily if it happens to a neighbor or family member, it will only be prosecutable if the aggrieved person or their legal representative files a complaint.
In the event that the affected person is in the following situations, the penalty will be increased, specifically:
1st. Vulnerability due to age, suffering from an illness or disability: imprisonment from six months to two years.
2nd. When the offended party is a spouse, ascendant, descendant, sibling, etc.: prison sentence of one to two years, or community service from sixty to one hundred and twenty days. In this case, it will not be necessary for the complaint to be filed by the harassed person or their representative.
3rd. Uses a person’s image without their consent: imprisonment from three months to one year or a fine of six to twelve months.
Protected Legal Interest
These behaviors affect a specific sphere of freedom, such that case law has established that the protected legal interest is individual freedom and the right to live peacefully and without distress.
Nevertheless, in the modality consisting of identity theft on social networks or public media, the protected legal interest is also the civil status and the integrity of the victim.
It is a crime of result, insofar as it is required that the behaviors directly cause a significant limitation in some of the aspects comprising the passive subject’s freedom of action, whether in the capacity to decide or the capacity to act.
Case law has determined that it is necessary to analyze the actions carried out by the agent, with insistence and repetition, and their suitability to seriously alter the life and peace of the victim (STS 554/2017, of July 12).
Types of Harassment and Stages of Blocking
The harasser generally finds various ways to attack their victim, the most common being:
- Verbal threats (insults, contempt, etc.)
- Covert threats through notes, letters in the mailbox, graffiti, etc.
- Physical threats (assaults, pushing, etc.)
- Spreading lies and rumors about the victim within the community.
- Publicly ridiculing the person for their physical appearance, race, qualities, work, or personality traits.
- Publicly criticizing the victim.
- Isolating and ignoring the victim within the community environment.
- Damage to property: mailbox, car, front door, etc.
- Reporting the victim with constant false testimonies.
This phenomenon consists of several distinct phases. These include:
1st. Conflict phase. It usually begins with a coexistence problem that has not been resolved correctly.
2nd. Start of harassment. Harassment strategies begin to be carried out by the neighbor or neighbors involved in the conflict. Normally, at this point, both the victim and the harasser deny such facts to avoid a larger problem.
3rd. External intervention. This occurs when the situation becomes known and external organizations intervene to try to provide a solution to the problem.
4th. Marginalization, flight, or exclusion. There are cases in which the victim is forced to leave their home or even move to a more distant location to avoid encountering the harasser.
Requirements and Evidence
In the case of homeowners’ associations, these must not be isolated acts, but CONSTANT and REPEATED acts of harassment that lead to a situation of serious impact on the life of a person, whether it be a neighbor, the president of the association, or the registered property manager.
To prove harassment, one can use, among other means of proof, emails or WhatsApp, also known as electronic evidence. If not contested by the defendant, the verification of the content of the messages sent by the Clerk of the Court would suffice; if the content is contested, an expert computer report proposed in court would be necessary so that a court-appointed expert can examine the messages and issue an authenticity report.
It can also be proven by witnesses who attest to the harassment situations and testify about the repeated behaviors they have witnessed that constitute “persistent harassment,” “hostigamiento”…
Regarding whether a psychological expert report is needed to prove the requirement of “serious alteration of daily life,” it should be noted that it is not necessary, as it is not a crime of “psychological abuse” that requires a psychological expert report, but rather a state caused by acts of harassment that affect the state of the passive subject, who are the harassed neighbors, the president, or the registered property manager. And that serious alteration of the passive subject’s daily life required by the provision will be inferred by the judge from the evidence presented for that purpose, especially from the victim’s and witnesses’ statements and their persistence in the testimony, in order to prove that impact on their life deduced from the way the repeated harassment behaviors were executed.
Regarding neighbor harassment, for the harasser to be classified under the blocking modality, the Supreme Court points out that it is very common to require a certain period of time. Some specialists have set a period of no less than one month (in addition to at least ten intrusions) as a guideline. Others speak of six months.
From our point of view, we could speak of an average term of two months of repetition before being able to file a complaint with the evidence collected.
How can I tell if I’m being harassed by my neighbors, and what should I do?
What distinguishes neighbor harassment from any other form of harassment is the subject of the crime, which will be one or more members of the homeowners’ association where the victim lives.
In the Penal Code itself, in Article 172 ter, it already establishes the behaviors that can indicate a situation of neighbor harassment. However, as also established in the same article, it must occur in an INSISTENT and REPEATED manner, a fact that must be proven.
Regarding how to proceed, the important thing before starting legal action is to compile and
gather all possible evidence (witnesses, documentation, medical reports, previous complaints, …) to demonstrate that there is deliberate harassment.
Once all the necessary and sufficient evidence has been collected, a complaint should be filed with the police or, if applicable, with the Duty Court to urge the neighbor to cease their behavior, which we at IN DIEM Abogados, as experts in the field, would handle drafting.
Author: Rocío Moreno Toro
Preguntas frecuentes sobre acoso vecinal o blocking
¿Qué es el acoso vecinal o blocking?
El acoso vecinal o blocking consiste en una conducta insistente y reiterada de hostigamiento ejercida por uno o varios vecinos contra otra persona dentro del entorno comunitario, hasta alterar de forma relevante su vida cotidiana, tranquilidad o libertad.
¿El acoso vecinal es delito?
Sí, puede ser delito cuando encaja en el artículo 172 ter del Código Penal. Para ello no basta una discusión puntual entre vecinos: deben existir conductas reiteradas, no autorizadas y con capacidad real para alterar gravemente la vida diaria de la víctima.
¿Qué conductas pueden considerarse acoso vecinal?
Pueden ser indicios de acoso vecinal los insultos constantes, amenazas, vigilancia, persecución, llamadas o mensajes reiterados, ruidos provocados deliberadamente, daños en bienes, rumores, denuncias falsas, actos de aislamiento o cualquier conducta persistente destinada a perturbar a la víctima.
¿Qué diferencia hay entre un conflicto vecinal y un delito de acoso?
Un conflicto vecinal puede surgir por ruidos, uso de zonas comunes, desacuerdos o problemas de convivencia. Para que exista delito de acoso debe apreciarse una conducta insistente, reiterada y suficientemente grave, capaz de afectar de forma seria al desarrollo normal de la vida cotidiana de la persona afectada.
¿Es necesario que el acoso dure un tiempo determinado?
No existe un plazo único aplicable a todos los casos. La duración, frecuencia e intensidad de las conductas deben valorarse conjuntamente. En la práctica, cuanto más prolongado y documentado sea el hostigamiento, más sólida podrá ser la acreditación de la reiteración exigida por el tipo penal.
¿Qué pruebas sirven para denunciar acoso vecinal?
Pueden ser útiles mensajes de WhatsApp, correos electrónicos, grabaciones, fotografías, partes médicos, denuncias previas, informes policiales, actas de comunidad, comunicaciones al administrador de fincas y declaraciones de testigos que hayan presenciado las conductas de hostigamiento.
¿Hace falta una pericial psicológica para acreditar el acoso?
No siempre. La alteración grave de la vida cotidiana puede deducirse de las pruebas practicadas, especialmente de la declaración de la víctima, los testigos y la documentación del hostigamiento. No obstante, en determinados casos un informe psicológico puede ayudar a reforzar la acreditación del daño o afectación sufrida.
¿Quién puede denunciar el acoso vecinal?
Como regla general, el delito de acoso requiere denuncia de la persona afectada o de su representante legal. En determinados supuestos agravados, especialmente cuando existe relación familiar o situaciones específicas de vulnerabilidad, pueden aplicarse reglas particulares que deben analizarse caso por caso.
¿Qué debe hacer una persona que cree estar sufriendo blocking?
Lo recomendable es no actuar de forma impulsiva, recopilar pruebas desde el inicio, dejar constancia de los hechos, comunicar la situación cuando proceda al presidente o administrador de la comunidad y consultar con un abogado penalista antes de presentar denuncia.
¿Cómo puede ayudar IN DIEM Abogados en un caso de acoso vecinal?
IN DIEM Abogados puede valorar si los hechos encajan en un delito de acoso, ordenar las pruebas disponibles, preparar la denuncia, intervenir en el procedimiento penal, solicitar medidas de protección cuando proceda y asesorar a la víctima durante todo el proceso.
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