Adult cyber abuse - eSafety Commissioner

eSafety helps all Australians prevent and deal with adult cyber abuse and its impacts. We do this through providing information, education and resources, as ... Skiptomaincontent Breadcrumb Keyissues Adultcyberabuse Keyissues COVID-19 Advicebookletforparentsandcarers Adviceforyoungpeople Openlettertoparentsandcarers Media,misinformationandscams Openlettertoschoolprincipalsandteachers Tipsforonlinecollaborationtools Workingalonewithchildren—online Managingyouronlinewellbeing Adviceforwomenexperiencingdomesticviolence Internationaladviceforfrontlineworkerssupportingwomen Internationaladviceforparents Fakenewsandmisinformation TheeSafetyGuide Cyberbullying Howtoreportcyberbullying AmIcyberbullyingothers? Howtolookafteryourself Realstories Carla Syed Jacqueline Ryan Forfamilyandfriends Foreducatorsandschools Adultcyberabuse Howtoreport Managingtheimpacts Whatwedoanddon'tdo Realstories Adrian Cayley Toby Van Forfriendsandfamily Policeandlegalhelp Image-basedabuse Takeaction Gethelptoremoveimagesandvideo ReporttotheeSafetyCommissioner Reporttosocialmediaserviceorwebsite Dealwithsexualextortion Gethelpfromthepolice Dealingwithdirectmessagesoremails Civilpenaltiesscheme Support Talkingwithfriendsandfamily 10waystogetthroughimage-basedabuse Forfamilyandfriends Usefulinternationalwebsites Quickguides Image-basedabuse AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoples Lesbian,gay,bi,trans,queerand/orintersex Family,friendsandbystanders Rightingthewrong Legalassistance Findalawyer Protectionorders What'sthelawinmystateorterritory? Statementsandstatutorydeclarations Legalcasestudies Yourstories Anna Ariba Emily Kate Jess Luca May Michael Min-jun Mitch Priya Steven FAQ Illegalandrestrictedonlinecontent HoweSafetycanhelp Managingtheimpacts Domesticandfamilyviolence Howtoidentifytechabuse Onlinesafetyplanning Onlinesafetychecklist Onlinesafetychecklistforfriendsandfamily Socialmediachecklist Onlinesafetyadvice Securingyouraccountsanddevices Technologycheckupquiz Technologytour Keepingchildrensafe Videolibrary Helpandsupport Forfriendsandfamily Policeandlegalhelp Collectingevidencesafely Gethelpinyourlanguage Professionaldevelopment Resourcesfordisabilitysupportworkers Personalstories Yourstories Alison Lin Bella Sam Alicia Rose Anna Patrice Rebecca Orderableresources Howto Removeimages,postsorothercontent Useyourdevicesafely Connectsafely Gethelpwithtechnology Balancetimeonline Planyourdigitallegacy Protectyourpersonalinformation Usesocialmediaandonlinechat Collectevidence TakingascreenshotonaMac TakingascreenshotonaPC   TakingascreenshotonanAndroiddevice TakingascreenshotonanAppledevice Stayingsafe Sendingnudesandsexting Unwantedcontact Onlinescamsandidentitytheft Yourdigitalreputation Sexualextortion Gaming Tailoredadvice Internationalleadershipandcollaboration Globaladviceforparentsandcarers EarlyYears—Onlinesafetyadvice EarlyYears—Storypuzzles Frontlineworkersandsupportproviders Out-of-homecarers Librariesandlibraryworkers Sportingorganisations,clubsandcommunitygroups Adultcyberabuse Adultcyberabuseiswhentheinternetisusedtosend,postorsharecontentthatisharmfultothephysicalormentalhealthofsomeonewhois18orolder. eSafetyhelpsallAustralianspreventanddealwithadultcyberabuseanditsimpacts.Wedothisthroughprovidinginformation,educationandresources,aswellasinvestigatingthemostseriouscasesofabuse. Onthispageyouwillfind: Whatisadultcyberabuse? Whatyoucando Findoutmore:includinghoweSafetycanhelpandhowtodealwiththeimpacts Readtranscript Audio “MyexusedmyphonetostalkmeandkeptsendingmessagessayingthatIcouldn’thidefromhim.” “WhenIpostedaboutbeingsexuallyharassedsomemensaiditwasjustflirting.Theythreatenedtoshowmewhatsexualharassmentreallylookedlike.” “Arandompersonstartedmessagingmewithracistandhomophobiccommentsandtheypostedmyhomeaddressonsocialmedia.” Eachofthesepeoplehasexperiencedseriousadultcyberabuse. That'swhensomeonewho's18orolderistargetedwithseverelyabusiveonlinecontentthat'sintendedtocausethemseriousphysicalormentalharm. “Ifeltscared.” Theymaybetargetedbecauseofhowtheylook,wherethey’refrom,theirreligion,gender,disability,politicalbeliefs,orsexuality. Itmightbeapost,acomment,ameme,amessage,anemailorevenachatinagame.  Itcouldbesenttothepersontargetedoritmightbeaboutthem. “Ifelttrapped.” Theymaybeharassedusingaphoneoranythingelseconnectedtotheinternet. Someonemaysharetheirpersonaldetailsorencourageotherstopileontheabuse. Anyadultcanbetargetedbyanyoneatanytime. “Ifeltalone.” TheOnlineSafetyActgiveseSafetybroadpowerstohelpallAustralianshavesaferandmorepositiveexperiencesonline. Ifyou'redealingwithseriousadultcyberabuse,wecanhelpyou. Startbysavinginformation.  Eventhoughyoumightwanttogetridofanythingbaddon'tdeleteitorblockanyoneyet,becauseyoumayneeditasproof. Justkeepitandfollowthesesteps. First,collectanyevidencebytakingascreenshotandnotingthewebaddressorURL. It'salsogoodtoincludetheaccountname,profile,andonlineserviceprovideraswellasthedateandtimeoftheabuse. Thenreportittotheonlineserviceproviderthatwasusedtopostorsendthecontent. Theyhavearesponsibilitytohelpyou. Ifyoudon'thearbackwithin48hours,contactushereatesafety.gov.au. Wecandirectthepersonresponsibleandtheserviceprovidertoremoveseriouslyharmfulcontentquickly. “ThankstoeSafety,Igotmylifeback.” “Ihavesupport.” “Ifeelsafeagain.” Tofindoutmoreaboutadultcyberabuse,howtoreportit,andtipsforstayingsafeonline,visitesafety.gov.au. WATCHNOW:HoweSafetycanhelpyoudealwithadultcyberabuse Seriousonlineabusecanhappentoanyoneatanytime,buteSafetyisheretohelp.Findoutaboutsometypicalexperiencesandthestepsyoucantaketodealwithharmfulcontent. Doyoufeelunsaferightnow? IfyouareinAustraliaandinimmediatedangeroratriskofharmcalltriple zero (000). Contactyourlocalpoliceon131 444iftherearethreatstoyoursafetyorthreatstoyourfriendsorfamilymembers. Whatisadultcyberabuse? Adultcyberabuseiswhensomeonesendsseriouslyharmfulcontenttoapersonwhois18orolder,orpostsorsharesharmfulcontentaboutthem,usinganonlineorelectronicserviceorplatform.Itcanincludeposts,comments,emails,messages,chats,livestreams,memes,imagesandvideos. Whatyoucando Ifsomeoneisjustbeingrude,annoyingorupsetting,oryoudon'tliketheiropinions,youcanusesimplestrategiessuchaschangingthesettingsonyourdeviceoronlineaccounttolimitcontactwiththem.FindouthowinTheeSafetyGuide.  Butifthecontentisseriouslyharmfulyoushouldsendittotheserviceorplatformthatwasusedtosend,postorshareit.Thisisusuallythefastestwaytogetthecontentremovedandstopthebadbehaviour,iftheserviceorplatformhasclearrulesandmoderatorswhocanassessreportsandtakeaction.Thisalsoallowsthemtounderstand,preventandrespondwhenpatternsofabusedevelopthatmayaffectotherusers.YoucanfindreportinglinksforcommonservicesandplatformsinTheeSafetyGuide.Also,youcanfollowourtipsabouthowtomanagetheimpactsofadultcyberabuse. Iftheharmfulcontentisseriousenough,andtheserviceorplatformdoesnothelpyouwithin48hours,eSafetycandirectthemtoremoveit.   ForeSafetytoinvestigate,theharmfulcontentmustmeetthelegaldefinitionof'adultcyberabuse'.ThismeansitmusttargetaspecificAustralianadultandbeboth: intendedtocauseseriousharm,and menacing,harassingoroffensiveinallthecircumstances. Thiscanincludecontentthatmakesrealisticthreats,placesapersoninphysicaldanger,isexcessivelyhurtful,orrepeatedlytargetsthesameperson.Itmayalsoinvolvehatespeechincludingsexism,racism,ableism,homophobia,transphobia,antisemitismandislamophobia. Youcanlearnmore,includingwhatismeantby‘seriousharm’and‘menacing,harassingandoffensive’,byreadingabouteSafety’sAdultCyberAbuseScheme. Findoutmore Howtoreportadultcyberabuse Findouthowtoreportadultcyberabuseandwhatcanbedoneaboutit. Howtomanagetheimpacts Practicaltipsforself-care,includinglinkstocounsellingandsupportservices. Whatwedoanddon'tdo Learnhowtheadultcyberabuseteamrespondstocomplaints. Realstories Hearrealstoriesfrompeoplewhohavedealtwithadultcyberabuse. Forfriendsandfamily Howtohelpifafriendorfamilymemberisdealingwithadultcyberabuse. Howtogetpoliceandlegalhelp Findoutwhenandhowtogethelpfrompoliceorlegalassistanceforadultcyberabuse.   ReportseriousadultcyberabusetoeSafety Ifyourexperiencemeetsthelegaldefinitionofadultcyberabuse,andtheserviceorplatformdoesnothelpwithin48hours,youcanreporttheharmfulcontenttoeSafetyusingouronlineform. Reportnow     Related Counsellingandsupportservices Ifyouareexperiencingonlineabuseyoudonotneedtofaceitalone.Talkingtosomeonecanhelpyoudealwiththeimpact. TheeSafetyGuide Learnaboutthelatestgames,appsandsocialmedia,includinghowtoprotectyourinformationandreportharmfulcontent. Image-basedabuse Image-basedabuseissharing,orthreateningtoshare,anintimateimageorvideoofapersonwithouttheirconsent. Cyberbullying Cyberbullyingiswhensomeoneusestheinternettobemeantoachildoryoungpersonsotheyfeelbadorupset. eSafetyacknowledgestheTraditionalCustodiansofCountrythroughoutAustraliaandtheircontinuingconnectiontoland,watersandcommunity.WepayourrespectstoAboriginalandTorresStraitIslandercultures,andtoElderspast,presentandemerging.AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderpeoplesshouldbeawarethatthiswebsitemaycontainimagesandvoicesofpeoplewhohavedied. FindinformationandresourcesforFirstNationspeoples. Newsletter Getthelatestinfotoyourinbox Signupnow What'son Findthelatestwebinars,eventsandcampaigns CheckCalendar Enquiries Askageneralquestionaboutourwork ContactUs Followus Keepuptodateacrossallourplatforms Aboutus Contactus Disclaimerandcopyright Accessibility Privacypolicy Freedomofinformation