If you or someone you know is experiencing online harassment, remember that you are not powerless. There are concrete steps you can take to defend yourself and others. First, understand what’s happening to you. If you’re being critiqued or insulted, you can choose to refute it or let it go. But if you’re being abused, naming what you’re experiencing not only signals that it’s a tangible problem, but can also help you communicate with allies, employers, and law enforcement. Next, be sure to document. If you report online abuse and succeed in getting it taken down, you could lose valuable evidence. Save emails, voicemails, and texts. Take screenshots on social media and copy direct links whenever possible. Finally, assess your safety. If you’re being made to feel physically unsafe in any way — trust your instincts. While police may not always be able to stop the abuse (and not all authorities are equally well-trained in dealing with it), at the very least you are creating a record that could be useful later.
