Navigating online harassment in the digital jungle

IF THE internet were a city, it would be a dizzying mashup of Times Square, a university library, a dodgy nightclub, and a kindergarten playground, open all night, bright, loud, and full of people who should probably be supervised.

- YOLANDA AKRAM

Most of us stroll through this digital city daily: scrolling, posting, sharing memes we think are funnier than they really are. But some unlucky people bump into the dark alleyways of the online world where trolls lurk, insults fly, and harassment feels as real as someone pounding on your actual front door.

Online harassment isn’t just “mean comments” or “someone having a bad day”. It’s persistent, targeted behaviour intended to intimidate, degrade, silence or scare. It might arrive as hundreds of messages from anonymous profiles.

It might be revenge porn shared by an ex with the emotional maturity of a damp towel. It might be doxing your phone number, address, or workplace posted online for strangers to play detective with.

And just like real-world harassment, it can leave people anxious, humiliated, unsafe and exhausted.

But here’s the plot twist many victims don’t know: South African law actually has your back.

In fact, it has several powerful tools designed specifically to deal with digital villains who think a wi-fi connection makes them untouchable.