Facing online violence can feel overwhelming. Here's where to start.

Pick one or two trusted people to support you. They will stick with you every step of the way — for emotional support, but also to help you practically. As your allies, they will:

• 💬 Provide emotional support
• 👀 Monitor the online abuse
• 🔐 Help manage your accounts

Standing up to online abuse can be emotionally draining and takes a lot of strength — the next steps take time, dedication and energy. Some steps require understanding English; if you don't, try to have someone in your support team who does.

• Take as many screenshots as possible of everything related to the abuse — messages, photos, videos, shares, reshares, usernames, emails, texts, voicemails. On a computer, export web pages as PDF.
• For each piece of content, note the date, time, username(s) and link — and keep everything in chronological order.
• Store it all in a secured digital folder, and share it with your support team.

In short: build a "who, what, when, where, and how" for each incident. Let your support team help monitor what's happening — it takes the mental load off your shoulders.

Report to multiple channels — the more reports, the faster the takedown.

• Platforms' own reporting forms: most let you report directly from the post, comment or message, or via "Help"/"Support". Report both the content and the account. The more people who report, the more likely platforms react.
• NGOs and civil society organisations specialised in online hatred and violence — some hold "trusted flagger" status, meaning their reports are prioritised by platforms. Check our global directory for one near you; if there's none in your country, contact one in a neighbouring country or one that speaks your language.
• Local authorities and police, and your country's official cybercrime reporting portal if one exists.

Complete the steps above, then:

• Report to Disrupt (all ages), StopNCII (adults only) and TakeItDown (minors only) — three global tools that fingerprint (hash) your content so platforms can block it from reappearing.
• Monitor where your content spreads with AlectoAI, a facial-recognition tool that tracks unauthorised use of your images across the internet.
• If content appears on pornographic platforms, email the site administrators requesting removal — Survivor AI can help you draft that takedown request.

• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on every account.
• Hide public email addresses from your profiles and bio sections.
• Delete personal data you've posted — where you live, places you frequent, live locations. We also recommend not posting photos of your family, especially children.
• Consider switching your accounts to "private" while the situation settles.

• Block accounts involved to prevent further contact (Instagram, for example, lets you block an account and any others they may create).
• Mute accounts if you don't want to see their content but don't want to alert them.

• Report it through your country's official cybercrime portal, and/or in person at a police station.
• Verify and organise your digital folder in chronological order — dates, times, usernames, links, with a brief explanation for each item.
• Bring your case file both printed and on a USB drive, so officers can use whichever format suits them.
• Keep a personal copy of everything you give the police, including the complaint reference number if there is one.

• Take breaks and step away from digital spaces when you need to — let your trusted people monitor instead.
• Seek professional support: online violence is real violence, with real consequences. Research shows it can affect victims' social, intimate, psychological and financial life all at once.