Online abuse is an umbrella term that encompasses many types of behaviors and interactions that are intended to provoke fear, threaten, intimidate, or otherwise harm their targeted person or group. There\u2019s a wide variety of online abuse and harassment, and has impacts outside of the online world from emotional and personal impacts to employment. Regardless, harassment is wrong and depending on how the harassers got information, could be illegal. It is never the victim\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may look like sending hateful messages, hacking others\u2019 accounts, stalking, sending threats, non-consensual sharing of intimate or private images, initiating and\/or participating in campaigns to spread damaging and\/or false information. Here\u2019s a guide<\/a> if you want more information. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Who is more likely to be on the receiving end of online harassment? Data tells us that often age and gender are closely associated with those who experience harassment, but there are other factors such as sexuality and race. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some statistics about age and gender (source<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because there are different ways people are harassed or abused online, here\u2019s a helpful list<\/a> of terms to use. This is also helpful for when you encounter abuse as a bystander or victim, to better describe what is happening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, the rest of this page is split up into four parts: what to do if you see someone being harassed, what to do when you face harassment, how to keep yourself safe on the internet and online in general, and what you can do as a Reedie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Remember the list of terms? Here\u2019s where that may be helpful! <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Bystander intervention, The Five D\u2019s: Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct. (SHARE has a whole other blog post just about bystander intervention too!) You don\u2019t have to interact directly; there are four other ways to intervene:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n II. Distract: You can push back by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n III. Delegate: This supportive community can help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n IV. Document: Keep in mind, looking at screenshots of abuse can be retraumatizing for those on the receiving end, so when you share the information you\u2019ve collected, be sure to offer a clear trigger warning. You can try something like: \u201cHey, documenting abuse is really important, but I realize it can also be traumatic, so I\u2019ve taken screenshots and saved hyperlinks for you in this folder. You can just store it somewhere safe in case you need it later.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n V. Delay: You can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a wide range of ways you might be harassed online. This section is if the harassment you face is stalking, bullying, sharing intimate or private images without permission, or spreading misinformation about you. This is still pretty broad, so there\u2019s a section for each of these along with general information about taking care of yourself after facing harassment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Stalking\/Doxxing<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bullying\/Spreading Misinformation<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. As mentioned before, documenting is a good idea for potential future evidence or reporting, along with possibly finding out where the information is coming from and where else it may be going.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. You can also report the harasser to the social media platforms and ask friends\/family\/followers to do the same<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sharing Intimate or Private Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are different options going forward, whether to report to law enforcement or the social media platform, conduct an assessment about who’s making the comments or threats, or just securing your profiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We know that reaching out to law enforcement is not a viable option for everyone. \u201cThe benefit of reporting a threat to law enforcement is that it starts a trail of evidence for your case, in case further threats are made and you decide to take further action in the future.\u201d (OnlineSOS<\/a>) You can report with a trusted friend or family member if you do not want to go alone. If you do not immediately report, you can always hold onto the evidence and documentation if you decide to report in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These methods to respond are not exclusive to one type of harassment and can be used however you feel safest and is what you want to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also basic steps you can do to keep yourself safe from harassment and to be more safe on the internet in general<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dealing with Online Harassment What is online abuse? Online abuse is an umbrella term that encompasses many types of behaviors and interactions that are intended to provoke fear, threaten, intimidate, or otherwise harm their targeted person or group. There\u2019s a wide variety of online abuse and harassment, and has impacts outside of the online world … <\/p>\n\n
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What to do if you see someone <\/strong>getting harassed:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What to do when you<\/strong> face harassment:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How to keep yourself safe<\/strong> online:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What you can do at Reed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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