We can prevent online sexual harassment and abuse
We can stop sexual harassment and abuse before it happens by addressing the bigger picture in which it occurs. The driving forces behind sexual violence are hard to see but are often based on attitudes, norms, and social systems that support the unequal treatment of certain groups over others.
That’s why we need to make changes to our community, workplace, or school cultures when trying to prevent sexual harassment and abuse, as well as understand our role as individuals to stand up to problematic behaviors and policies that contribute to a environment where sexual violence is normalized or not taken seriously.
Sexual violence prevention means addressing the root causes of sexual violence, like broad cultural factors such as beliefs about gender equality and multiple forms of oppression such as racism, transphobia, and ableism, and social systems that reinforce power over others.
What does it mean to prevent sexual violence online?
There are ways we can keep our online spaces safe as leaders and as individuals. Leaders can take steps to secure their online spaces from outside threats, implement policies that promote equality and respect, take reports of harassment or abuse seriously, and hold those responsible accountable. Individually, we can step in when we come across problematic or harmful comments, behaviors, or content. Individuals can also educate others and advocate for leaders to take meaningful action.
Community-level prevention means making changes to larger-level environmental factors, climate, and policies to reduce the likelihood that people will perpetrate sexual violence. Community-level prevention refers to more than just communities of people within a town — it can also mean workplaces, campuses, organizations, or any space, (online or otherwise) that has its own policies and rules that impact others.
Community-level prevention benefits everyone in the community, even if they weren’t aware of the prevention efforts taking place.
What does community-level prevention look like?
Let’s look at one example of community-level sexual violence prevention. One of the underlying causes of sexual harassment is sexist attitudes and behaviors. So it makes sense that in order to stop sexual harassment from happening in the first place, we need to change sexist attitudes and behaviors.
Workplaces could practice community-level prevention by implementing policies around equal pay, family leave, and promotion practices. Policies like this can help to shift attitudes within the workplace culture from reinforcing gender inequality to gender equity- and help level the playing field in terms of pay and benefits.
Equitable policies also set a tone for the values that the workplace is built on and send a message that sexist attitudes and behaviors will not be tolerated on a policy level or on an individual level.
Implementing community-level prevention in online spaces
Just like in in-person spaces, online spaces can develop their own policies and rules that promote respect and discourage harmful behaviors. Whether you’re taking part in an online classroom, workspace, or social space — you can take steps to ensure the safety of yourself and others.
Leaders who are facilitating the space can:
- Create community agreements with participants so the expectations around respectful communications are clear to everyone involved. Rather than issuing a zero-tolerance policy around sexual harassment, name specific behaviors that will not be tolerated and how those who do harm will be asked to take accountability.
- Provide a way that victims can make a report about harassment or abuse if another group member’s behavior is making them uncomfortable.
- Establish community norms around appropriate ways for group members to communicate with one another. For instance, this might mean identifying which hours of the day that group members should contact one another, on what apps or platforms, etc.
- Keep participants safe by making sure the platforms you use are secure.
Actions to take when you see harmful content or comments
Behaviors or actions like sexist jokes, victim-blaming language or comments may seem like not that big of a deal, but they contribute to the same way of thinking that fuels violence. Although they only reflect the point of view of the person making them, their public visibility normalizes not taking sexual abuse seriously. In other cases, they may cause harm by re-traumatizing victims of abuse or assault who read them.
Recognizing victim-blaming or minimizing language
Victim blaming comments may include:
- Comments that question the victim’s actions prior to an assault or after an assault took place — for instance, how long it took to make a police report or questioning why a report wasn’t made.
- Comments that minimizes what happened to a victim. For instance, a journalist may use terms like “forced sex,” “sexual encounter,” or “underage sex” when they really mean sexual assault or statutory rape.
The reality is that the digital world is not separate from in-person spaces. They both make up the world we live in, and the impact of our actions can be just the same. If you wouldn’t do or say something to someone in person, then you shouldn’t say it to them online.
We can step in when we observe harmful behaviors online:
- Report inappropriate content If you see sensitive or violent content on a social media platform, you can report it to the platform it was shared on (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube etc.) in order to have it flagged or removed. Different platforms have their own guidelines on what counts as inappropriate and what actions they will take, but that process starts with you making a report.
- Speak out when you see harmful comments When you see comments that blame victims for what happened to them, you can respond by refocusing accountability on the perpetrator. While you might not change the mind of the person who left the comment, others will see that not everyone agrees with them.
- Show your support to victims of online harassment Check in with the person that comments have been directed at to show your support. Or consider volunteering to be a moderator in certain contexts to help prevent future harassment.
When all of us see our role in keeping others safe online by stepping in when we see harmful content or comments, we can create an environment where this type of content cannot thrive.
- We Can Stop Sexual Assault, Harassment, and Abuse Before They Happen by NSVRC
- What is Community-Level Prevention, Anyway? Podcast by NSVRC