Cyber harassment definition
Cyber harassment is a tactic used to repeatedly offend, annoy, attack, threaten, or verbally abuse a victim using digital means with the intention to cause distress and harm.
Cyber harassment examples
- Trolling is when perpetrators trudge through forums and social media producing a barrage of negative comments to provoke or offend their victims.
- In online sexual harassment, perpetrators send unwanted sexual messages, demand intimate photos, openly objectify their targets in the comments, or even blackmail their victims.
- In swatting, perpetrators trick an emergency service into sending armed personnel to the victim’s address. This is a life-threatening crime that in 2017, resulted in a victim’s death when a police officer shot and killed a man as a result of swatting.
Stopping cyber harassment
- Report inappropriate comments and messages to the platform they’re on.
- Document the harassment and keep the evidence as proof.
- Limit the information about yourself online.
- Consider reporting the predators to the authorities.
- Find support groups in your country or online to help with your case.
Further reading
