A War Cry against Internet Harassment

Yesterday I had the opportunity to read a blog post brought to my attention by @Vitaemachina in a tweet that was quite obviously, spurred by outrage. If there was ever a blog post to read yesterday, @Vitaemachina said that this was the post to read. Dude… you seriously should have warned me to clean off any makeup and grab some tissues.

The blog post I was pointed at was done by @Applecidermage called Learned Helplessness: A Cage Called Harassment, and I will at least warn you, grab your tissues because before you get right angry, your going to shed a tear.

This blog post is a heart wrenching story of one woman’s fight against harassment centered around the internet. Her experiences with a single person are mortifying to say the least and as you read through it, you start to gather a small flame of rage for what has gone on in her life. The ball grows, like a mages fireball and gathers fuel from the images flashing through your mind of our own personal experiences. The longer I read the post, the more angry at this stalker I was. By the end of the post my heart wanted to scream out Apple Cider’s war cry and tell every person I came across. In fact, that is exactly what I did and will continue to do.

Today is International Woman’s Day and there could not be a more perfect day to further get the word out about Internet Harassment. Many people have had encounters with someone on the internet that creeped them out, that made them uncomfortable and even made them stop playing games or facebook/twitter for a while. Typically, it disappears though and life goes on. What I want to know though, is why there are no laws, no mandates, no resources for people who are being harassed on the internet? I was wrong, there are Laws. I just didn’t know about them.

I was discussing this with someone this morning who I often use as a sounding board and today, I had to agree. It’s difficult at best, to track someone who is using the internet to harass another person. At least that is what the idea is. It infuriates me that internet harassment isn’t taken more seriously and looked at for exactly what it is. Many people have a huge presence on the internet, it’s how they make their living or how they connect with people. It’s how writers and activists get their word outs, it’s how schools and teachers better educate our young. Just because it’s from behind a screen, doesn’t make those people any less important and shouldn’t make harassment acts, any less important in the eyes of LAW. It seems that the law’s view on the whole subject, is that it is our responsibility to educate ourselves and to protect our identities and our rights.

1. Here, is Step One: Get the word out, tell anyone and everyone you know. So what if they don’t play games or twitter and facebook? Tell them anyway. Harassment is harassment no matter the venue of execution.
2. Step Two: Read this Guide. Internet Harassment and You: A Guide It is primarily WoW (World of Warcraft) based, but entirely a good read.
3. Step Three: If you are being harassed on the internet seriously, contact authorities. Document the harassment, including any information you can get about where they are doing it from, IP addresses or anything.
   • Know the Law and find any resources which apply in your place of residence. Criminal Harassment in Canada are laws here in Canada, all of Canada falls under the same laws. Here is the law from the Canadian Bar Association
   • Wikipedia has an excellent definition. Cyberstalking There is a ton of information there, including excellent resources, definitions of stalker behavior and more.
   • In the US there are laws that vary from State to State. This is very technical information, but it at least lists which states have which laws, and links to what those laws are. Cyberstalking, Cyberharassment, Cyberbullying
4. In case you think it’s not against the law, or that law doesn’t define Internet Harassment… think again. First Man Sentenced for Internet Harassment
5. Step Four: FIGHT. Do NOT recluse and remove yourself from your life. If you need help in fighting, let me know and I’ll hook you up with people to help and support you. Do NOT give in, Do NOT give up. If you are reading this but have already given in, I feel for you and my heart aches. I also hope you will contact me just to talk.

This type of crime is appalling, yet the strength you see in people gives me hope. Apple Cider Mage has issued a War Cry, and I hope it’s a War Cry that never quiets.