Responding toOffensive, Harassing orThreatening Social Media Messages
If you havebeen exposed tooffensive or harassingmessages though Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media sites there are a number of things that you can do;
- Many social media siteshave establishedmechanisms for reportingabusive behavior and blocking abusive users. Contact the the social media site where the comments or messages were posted. We have provided links below to some of the most popular social media sites and have also directed you to a more comprehensive list compiled by the which includes sites like Vine, Skype and Pinterest;
- Keep copies ofall of the messages, posts, or comments that are of concern and, if possible, document who made each of the comments;
- Do not retaliateor do anything that might be perceived by an outsider to have contributed to the problem. Yourresponse should be to calmly tell them to stop.
In situations involving aggressive and/or threatening behaviour, you are strongly urged to contact UW Police Services (ext. 22222 or 519-888-4911) for assitance and guidance. If you are not on campus, contact your local police.
Links for additional social mediasites (Vine, Skype, Pinterest, etc) can be found .
The Ontario Human Rights Commission takes cyber-bullying and cyber-harassment seriously. Here is what they have to say,
"While many forms of sexual harassment take place through person-to-person contact, sexual harassment is also happening at alarming rates through online technology. Email, blogs, social networking sites, chat rooms, dating websites, cell phone text messaging,etc.are all possible domains for sexual harassment. “Cyber-harassment,” as it is also known, can be carried out by anyone, including a co-worker, a manager, a housing provider, a fellow tenant, a fellow student, a teacher, school staff or a stranger. The growth of technology has created an unprecedented potential for the viral spreadof online comment, photographs, video images,etc.The anonymity afforded by many forms of online communication may make it a vehicle of choice for harassers."