Cyber abuse

As we spend so much of our lives online, it’s becoming increasingly common to have negative experiences in digital spaces. Usually these experiences are quite mild, but sometimes an incident might occur that is more significant and personally harmful.

Adult cyber abuse is the general term used to define any online or digital communication that is menacing, harassing or offensive. It may also be intended to cause serious harm to your physical or mental health. It can take place in any digital space, including text messages, online classrooms, forums, emails and social media.

If you are under 18, this type of activity is called cyberbullying.

It’s important to remember that cyber abuse can happen to anyone, and it’s not your fault if you become a target. Cyber abuse is not about you: it reflects on the person who is abusing you. It’s also not something that you should just ignore (although this is a good start): there are various ways you can report cyber abuse to stop it escalating, as it can quickly intensify in scale and nature.

Unfortunately, there are many different types of cyber abuse: here’s a bit about them and what to do if they happen to you.

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Cyberstalking

Cyberstalking is the use of technology to stalk or repeatedly harass someone. It is often accompanied by offline stalking. Cyberstalking may include false accusations, abusive comments, attempts to hurt your reputation, threats of physical or sexual violence, or repeated unwanted sexual requests. Cyberstalking may also include monitoring, identity theft and the gathering of information that may be used to threaten, embarrass or harass you.

What to do

Cyberstalking is dangerous and can develop into physical abuse. Do not wait to report cyberstalking – if you are in immediate danger, call the police on Triple Zero (000). Otherwise, you can contact your local police through the police assistance line (131 444). You can also contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) for advice and support.

More about cyberstalking

Trolling

Trolling is when someone posts or comments something in order to deliberately upset others. Examples include anti-social comments on online posts which make fun of others or aim to offend, comments that are deliberately provocative or offensive, or image posts that aim to frustrate or upset.

What to do

You can report someone who is trolling to the platform it is taking place on – the eSafety guide has instructions on how to do this. If the behaviour meets the threshold for cyberbullying or cyber abuse, you can report it to eSafety themselves.

More about trolling

Fake accounts, impersonation and catfishing

Online abusers may set up fake social media accounts pretending to be someone they are not in order to bully, harass or otherwise abuse people. They are also used to scam people into handing over money, gifts or intimate images or videos. You might discover that someone is pretending to be you online. Alternately, you might be approached by someone who isn’t who they say they are – this can sometimes be called catfishing.

What to do

If someone has set up a fake social media account in your name, you can report the fake account directly to the service or platform that hosts it – the eSafety guide has instructions on how to do this. Be aware though that it can take some time before the fake account is removed.

If you think you are being catfished, you should stop the conversation, check your personal accounts are secure and screenshot, block and report the fake accounts.

More about catfishing

Online hate

Online hate is any hateful posts about a person or group based on their appearance, race, religion, ethnicity, political beliefs, sexual orientation, disability or gender. It is intended to ridicule, insult and humiliate.

If someone posts personal comments about you online intended to hard your reputation, this can also be called defamatory content.

What to do

If you are targeted by someone who is communicating with you in a hateful way, you can report it directly to the platform – the eSafety guide has instructions on how to do this. If the platform doesn’t do anything, you can make a report to eSafety.

More about online hate

Doxing and swatting

Doxing is when someone shares your personal details online. This may result in offensive comments and unwanted calls or visits from strangers.

Swatting occurs when someone makes a hoax call to emergency services to send a large number of police or emergency service responders to your address. This can be triggered by a false report of a bomb threat, hostage situation or someone at the address experiencing a mental health emergency, such as being suicidal.

What to do

Doxing and swatting can escalate into a serious situation – if it happens to you or someone close to you, you should report it immediately to the police. You can also report it to the platform it occurred on, or you can make a report to eSafety.

More about doxing

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Reporting guidelines

If cyber abuse occurs on a Deakin platform or involves Deakin staff or students, you should make a report to the Safer Community team, as well as reporting the incident to the appropriate platform and eSafety.

If you are feeling unsafe right now, call the police on Triple Zero (000). For 24-hour support, you can contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

For more detailed guidelines on how to respond to different forms of cyber abuse, download eSafety’s document, which also outlines skills and strategies for coping with cyber abuse.