UVM Online Harassment Guide

Please contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Police Services with any Safety Concerns.

Reporting Harassment

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Contact the Office of Equal Opportunity for assistance by emailing EqualOpportunity@uvm.edu, calling 802-656-3368, or visiting during business hours at 428 Waterman.

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Cyberbullying: Intimidating or threatening online communication
Trolling: When individuals deliberately follow and provoke others online, often with offensive content.
Doxxing: Sharing private information without consent, and with malicious intent
Stalking: Ongoing, unwanted attention online that causes emotional distress
Hate Speech: Offensive language targeting protected identities (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and others)
Sexual harassment or exploitation: harassment of a sexual nature, including threats to disseminate images online
Additional examples and considerations for online harassment can be found here on the StopBullying.gov website.

Prevention and Initital Response

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Be mindful about what you post, and have posted, to social media. Consider reviewing and modifying content, or temporarily pausing or making private social media accounts if those actions may enhance safety and prevent unwanted attention.
Consider using a service like “delete.me” (an example, not an endorsement) to scrub public facing information about you.
Do not engage with anyone sending harassing or threatening messages. Use available tools such as blocking and reporting abuse.
To secure your accounts, review your online privacy settings regularly and after software updates, use strong passwords and two-factor authentication when possible.

Consider Safety and Take Action

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Immediate safety concerns or danger: Call 911.
Non-immediate safety concerns or crime reporting: Contact UVM Police Services at 802-656-3473. Police Services offers safety planning as a service for UVM community members.
Report harassment directly on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), and TikTok. The conduct may violate the platform’s community guidelines. The website StopBullying provides individual current links for various platforms.
Crisis Text Line: Text "VT" to 741741 from anywhere in Vermont. This provides free 24/7 support for anyone in crisis in VT or nationally.
Document incidents and consider taking screen shots.
Consider the option to remove directory information. Contact the Office of the Registrar, or the Office of Equal Opportunity. There are also options to remove public facing schedules in the event that becomes advisable.
If you are a mandatory reporter and you become aware of conduct that may require a Clery CSA report or a Title IX/Equal Opportunity report, be aware of your responsibilities and reach out to the Equal Opportunity or Police Services for assistance.
Additional information about online harassment involving faculty or staff is available from the American Association of University Professors (PDF).

Report Harassment and Obtain Support

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All UVM reporting options are located at the Report a Concern Page.

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CAPS Counseling: Confidential counseling support for UVM students.
Invest Employee Assistance Program: Confidential counseling support for UVM employees.
Legal assistance: The Vermont Bar Association provides a Lawyer Referral Service. The UVM Office of General Counsel is a resource for employees with questions about legal matters involving their UVM role.

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UVM provides a Freedom of Expression Policy, a Code of Student Conduct, the Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Policy, and other policies. The information provided here is a summary and should be interpreted consistently with UVM policies and procedures.