What to do if someone else is being harassed online.
- Posted by iKeepSafe
Online harassment, such as cyberbullying, is using information and communication technologies to carry out a methodical, deliberate and persistent process that is intended to harass, threaten, humiliate or harm the recipient.
If you see repeated deliberate harassment or bullying of another online user, this can be very distressing, but there are a few things you can do. First, you want to be sure that what you are seeing is harassment and not simply banter between two people. For example, if someone says "I’m going to kill you next time I see you", it may be a serious threat, or it may be an entirely harmless comment between friends. If you are sure that you are witnessing harassment, you can:
- Reach out to the person who is being harassed and ask if they are okay, and if they need help reporting the incident or getting in touch with a local organisation that can help them to get the support they need.
- Report the abuse using the reporting features in the online service where the harassment occurred. Follow the instructions that you are given to provide the links to evidence, etc. for the moderator to review.
- Unless you know the harasser well and believe they will respect your comments, do not contact them – you may find yourself being their new target.