Online Safety Plan for Dealing with Harassment and Abuse via Email and Social Media
Objective: To enhance personal safety, security, and mental well-being while navigating and responding to online harassment and abuse.
- Evaluate the Threat:
- Assess the severity of the harassment and abuse. Keep a record of all instances, including dates, times, and content.
- Determine if any threats are credible or indicate potential offline harm. If so, report them to law enforcement.
- Privacy and Security Settings:
- Review and tighten privacy settings on all social media platforms, email accounts, and other online profiles to control who can see your posts and contact you.
- Disable location sharing unless necessary.
- Update all passwords to be strong and unique. Consider using a password manager.
- Use your York-provided email account for all work-related purposes.
- Enable two-factor authentication on all accounts, including personal social media or email accounts external to York.
- Utilizing Technology Solutions:
- Install reputable antivirus and anti-spyware software on all devices.
- Use email filters to automatically move suspected harassment emails to a separate folder.
- Block and Report:
- Block the harassers on all platforms and their email addresses. This will prevent them from contacting you.
- Report abusive content to the respective platforms using their reporting mechanisms.
- Save evidence of harassment, such as screenshots and messages, for future reference.
- Create a New Email Address:
- Consider creating a new email address to minimize exposure to harassment.
- Share this new email address only with trusted contacts.
- Limit Personal Information:
- Review your online presence and remove or limit personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, and workplace details.
- Be cautious about sharing personal information in public forums.
- Manage Friend and Follower Lists:
- Restrict social media profiles to friends or followers only.
- Review and clean out your friend/follower lists to remove people you don't know or trust.
- Online Safety Education:
- Stay informed about common online threats (like phishing) and best practices for digital safety.
- Attend workshops or webinars about online safety if available.
- Monitor Online Activity:
- Regularly check your online profiles for any unauthorized changes or posts.
- Set up Google Alerts to notify you of mentions of your name or other identifying information online.
Conclusion: This plan is dynamic and should be adapted as situations evolve. The priority is to ensure safety, privacy, and emotional well-being while navigating online spaces.