What is Online Abuse?
Online abuse is any form of harmful behaviour or content delivered through digital technologies, including the internet and mobile devices, that is intended to cause distress, harm, or loss to an individual. It encompasses a wide range of actions, from cyberbullying and harassment to stalking and the sharing of intimate images without consent.
Examples of Online Abuse
- Spreading malicious and abusive rumours and gossiping
- Emailing or texting you with threatening or intimidating remarks
- Mobbing (a group or gang that target you)
- Harassing you repeatedly
- Intimidation and blackmail
- Stalking you online and continually harassing you
- Posting embarrassing or humiliating images or videos without your consent
- Posting your private details online without consent
- General bullying or stalking
- Grooming (enticing or goading you online to self-harm or commit a crime)
- Setting up a false profile, identity fraud or identity theft
- Using gaming sites to attack or bully you
- Theft, fraud or deception over the internet