#ReportIt For IWD

This follows from our last blog. Sisters, if you have experienced online abuse in the last six months - whether that is harassment, dick pics, persistent annoying tweets or any other type of abuse - please report it to the police using this letter, amended as necessary. You may need to go physically to your local police station in order to report a crime.

#ReportIt if you can from 1 - 8 March 2020 and, if you feel able, share on social media that you have made a report using #ReportIt.

Send us a copy of the letter (and the abuse) to julian@filia.org.uk. We will keep it confidential and will anonymise all results. We will then send you out a survey to find out what response (if any) you got, and create a short report from the results.

[Name of Police Station]

I am reporting an offence under s.127 Malicious Communications Act 2003.

I have received the attached communications. I saw them on [Twitter/ Facebook / other] or They were sent to me via [Twitter / Facebook / other].

I believe that this constitutes an offence under s.127 as follows:

EITHER

s.127(1) The message sent was grossly offensive / indecent / obscene / menacing. It left me feeling threatened and upset. [Add any other explanation, e.g. for dick pics you may have found it sexually threatening, or humiliating or degrading. It may have been sent in a context, e.g. where the sender knew you would be upset by it.]

OR

s.127(2) These messages were sent persistently and were obviously intended to cause me annoyance, anxiety and / or inconvenience. I felt annoyed and frightened by them. [Add any other explanation.]

I believe that I was targeted for these messages because I am a woman. Although misogyny is not a hate crime, I am aware that you can take into account Violence Against Women And Girls when assessing the public interest and the disproportionate amount of online abuse women suffer.

[If applicable]: I also believe that I have been targeted for my race / religion / disability / sexual orientation / transgender status because …..

I look forward to hearing from you.